Pursuit of the Truth

”The heck’s that voice?”

The monkey-faced old man glared at the man and lifted his hand to slap the man’s head.

”What do you think that voice is? ‘The heck’s that voice’?! Shut your trap!” The old man slapped him again, causing the man to quickly retract his head, but he did not dare move away.

The old man let out a cold snort and no longer bothered himself with the man. With a dark face, he charged towards the mountain range where Su Ming’s cave abode was. The six people behind him followed suit. The seven of them turned into seven long arcs and charged towards the ground.

Yet, just when they flew out and before they even got closer to the mountain range, suddenly, bell chimes reverberated in the sky. The bell chimes hummed in the air, causing a visible layer of ripples to appear and start spreading in all directions.

The bell chime and the ripples immediately caused the old man’s mind to start trembling once again, and his expression to change. As for the six people behind him, their bodies started swaying and shock appeared on their faces.

”This is the Soul Catcher’s Voice. Patriarch, I think… I think we should leave. That’s a Medial Soul Catcher.”

One of the people behind the old man quickly spoke up to try to persuade the old man, as the bell chimes tolled in the air. That person’s face was pale. He was only a Fledgeling Shaman, and the bell chimes seemed to have stirred up a large amount of humming sounds within his body, causing him to almost be unable to stand properly.

”Bullsh*t!” The monkey-faced old man glared at him and lifted his hand to slap the head of the person who spoke.

”Your old man’s gonna tell you what that voice is. That’s the Soul Catcher’s Voice, all right, but use your head a bit. Why the heck did we come here for? He only has that voice, and he used it ‘cause he’s scared! Get it? He’s scared, that’s why he used that voice!

”Do you know how it came to be? That’s the sound of someone striking mountain rock. That’s all there is to it! And that sound already scared y’all off your pants?” the monkey-faced old man said with a cold harrumph.

”Patriarch, you’re really smart and knowledgeable. So that’s the sound of someone striking mountain rock, huh?” The six people quickly nodded their heads, and their gazes were filled with respect as they looked at the old man.

”It would have been better if he stayed quiet. But now that he used his Voice, I know that this boy Soul Catcher, who came out of nowhere, is scared.” No one knew exactly how that monkey-faced old man came to that conclusion. He lifted his right hand and slapped each of the six people’s heads.

”Ow! Patriarch!” The man who had been the earliest to speak among the six retracted his head once again and whined.

”You lot wait here. Watch as I chase the boy Soul Catcher away. How dare he take over what belongs to our tribe.” The monkey-faced old man narrowed his eyes and no longer bothered himself with his six fellow tribesmen. Instead, he turned around and charged towards the mountain range where Su Ming was.

Yet the instant he came to be at a distance 1,000 feet away from the mountain range, suddenly, the bell chimes shot into the air with an even more powerful sound. Booming sounds reverberated and spread through the area, stirring up an even higher amount of ripples, even causing a huge gust of wind that lifted up the old man’s hair.

The monkey-faced old man sucked in a sharp breath. He might have told his tribesmen about the voice as if he knew what it was, but in truth, he too, had absolutely no idea what it was. Just by listening to it, it already made fear stir in his heart. But he was the Patriarch of White Bull Tribe, he could not show fear before his tribesmen.

He gritted his teeth, then as he grumbled in his heart, he rushed out once again.

The six tribesmen behind him could not help but retreat. As they watched their patriarch moving forward and listened to the increasingly stronger humming sounds, they looked at each other.

”The patriarch is serious smart. How the heck did he know that the guy’s scared?”

”How else could he be the patriarch and you ain’t the patriarch? The patriarch’s right. Look, the closer he got, the stronger the voice is. He’s clear scared.”

”Why do I think it ain’t like that..?”

”That’s right, he’s clear scared.”

As the six people continued talking, mumbling, and discussing among themselves, the monkey-faced old man had already arrived at a distance 500 feet away from the mountain range. When he saw that he was about to step on the mountain, he sucked in a huge breath and let out a huge roar.

”This mountain’s…”

Yet before he could finish speaking, he widened his eyes and his voice died off. A presence that made his skin crawl shot out abruptly from the mountain range.

As that presence spread out, a gigantic illusion of 1,000 feet abruptly appeared before the old man. That illusion was in the shape of a bell, and once it appeared, a mighty pressure that shook the sky and earth rose up, and it was so great that it even changed the weather.

The pressure crashed into the monkey-faced old man, who was also shaken by the gigantic bell that suddenly appeared, and because of that, without a single word, he quickly fell back.

As he was retreating, a clear bell chime came from within that gigantic illusionary bell. That sound was a lot clearer than before, and when that chime fell into the tribesmen’s ears, it made their ears ring.

The monkey-faced old man quickly retreated and returned to his tribe members’ side.

”Damn it, the heck’s that…” the man behind him cried out in surprise again.

”That sound ain’t from striking mountain rocks. The heck’s that thing?” The people standing behind the old man sucked in a sharp breath.

”Heck heckity heck. Is that the only word y’all know?!” The old man seemed to have flown into rage due to his embarrassment. He turned his head around and glared at those people, then lifted his hand and slapped their faces again.

”Your old man will tell you the heck that thing is. It’s a big bowl!”

Right when the old man finished speaking, another bell chime shot through the air once again, and right before their eyes, the illusonary bell in the sky above the mountain range instantly materialized, revealing its complete form.

Its entire body was colored greenish black and it exuded an ancient presence. As it floated in midair, that presence turned into a mighty pressure that caused the old man and the people behind him to descend to the ground, unable to bear the pressure.

”Patriarch, that… that ain’t a bowl…”

”Patriarch, that really ain’t a bowl, the heck’s that thing?”

The tribe members’ faces were all stark pale and they were all shivering. Under the pressure, even their powers had frozen up, and as they shivered, vacant looks appeared on their faces.

”Hmph, let your old man tell y’all. That’s a bowl. The boy Soul Catcher is scared, that’s why he got that bowl out to scare us. You, and you, get over there. Lure that boy Soul Catcher out for me.”

The monkey-faced old man was nervous, but he gritted his teeth and ordered his men as he pointed at two standing by his side. When he saw the both of them not having the courage to go, he glared at them.

Amidst their fear, the two tribe members gritted their teeth and charged out, wanting to get closer to the mountain range. Yet when they had just moved about 100 feet forward, a shocking roar suddenly came from that Han Mountain Bell in the sky.

That roar brought an even greater shock to the hearts and souls compared to the bell chimes, causing the two men to cough out a mouthful of blood, and they instantly fell to the side. When they turned their heads back to look, they saw their four tribesmen standing behind their patriarch also coughing out blood and falling to the ground.

Only the monkey-faced old man remained standing, but his body was shaking.

”Don’t think I don’t know y’all are playing dead. Just you wait, when I teach that boy Soul Catcher a lesson, I’ll spank y’all when we get back.”

The old man stomped, then as he spread his arms wide-open, he bit his tongue. Once he coughed out a mouthful of blood, he instantly gained a mighty presence. A huge layer of illusionary white fog also appeared behind him. As that fog tumbled about, the contour of a bull was formed.

The old man lifted his right hand, and with one flip, a gigantic bowl appeared mysteriously in his hand. That bowl was filled with fresh water, and with the bowl in hand, the old man took a step forward while groaning in his heart. He was the Patriarch of White Bull Tribe, a small tribe. Ever since he heard his tribesmen sending news that a Soul Catcher had appeared around the place a few days ago, he had been indecisive.

He waited for a few days. When the people he sent to investigate the place came back telling him that the place had returned to normal and that the Medial Soul Catcher was no longer around, he decided to bring his tribe members to the place and put up a show. He did not expect, however, that he would run into a voice that would shake his mind and soul when he just arrived.

He could still withstand the first few bell chimes and babble nonsense about the sound’s origins, but when the gigantic bell materialized, his heart had already been conquered by fear. However, leaving just like that was not something he as a Patriarch could do. With gritted teeth, he made up his mind to launch a desperate attack. No matter what, he had to rush over and fight against that Medial Soul Catcher.

Besides, in his mind, he believed that even if he was not a Soul Catcher, he had still reached the pinnacle of being a Medial Shaman. There was no guarantee who would win in the fight.

As he rushed out, a serious look appeared on his face. Ripples and waves appeared on the fresh water in the stone bowl and turned into vapor around his body, causing him to be able to resist the bell chimes echoing in the air.

Just as he was moving forward, the two men who fell to the ground immediately opened their eyes and quickly crawled on the ground to return to their tribesmen, who had also fallen to the ground after coughing up blood.

Almost the moment these two people returned, their other four tribesmen also opened their eyes and looked at each other. Then, as if they could read each other’s minds, all of them moved back quickly without a word.

Only the old man continued charging forward. Once he got closer to the mountain range, he already had no time to deal with his six tribesmen behind him. He stomped on the ground with his right foot and shot up swiftly from the ground to fly into the sky. At the same time he bellowed loudly once again.

”This mountain’s…”

Almost the moment he started speaking the second time, suddenly, wind stirred and clouds surged forth beyond that gigantic Han Mountain Bell in the sky. A large layer of fog appeared, and the shadow of a great ferocious beast that could not be described with words formed inside that fog.

That ferocious beast looked as if it was made by nine Aquatic Beasts fused together, and it towered above everything. As those nine heads spread out, they looked as if they had occupied the sky.

It was also because of this creature’s appearance that the old man’s words died away abruptly the second time. His eyes went wide, and shock along with terror could be seen within them. He quickly retreated, and goosebumps rose all over his body.

A murderous aura descended upon him with a loud bang.

Five of the nine heads had their eyes closed as if they were sleeping. However, the four remaining heads had their eyes opened, and there was a freezing glare within them. Su Ming’s body could be seen inside the four pairs of pupils.

”What is this mountain?” Su Ming’s voice came out with a mighty boom from the mouths of the four heads he had occupied.

”This mountain’s yers…”

The monkey-faced old man suddenly gained some sense in his head and no longer dared to continue retreating. He quickly smiled obsequiously.