Pursuit of the Truth

The clone looked like an extremely powerful man from the distance. He was about ten feet tall and had no hair. His entire body was black, and there were waves of murderous aura spreading out from him.

That murderous aura came from those black beetles. At the same time, lying within that murderous aura was a dense life force, and hidden within it was a similarly dense aura of death.

The fusion of life and death could be said to be perfect, and it was enough to shock all those who saw it.

This was not a normal puppet. In fact, it could be said that there were a lot of differences between this clone and the other Soul Catchers’ puppets. Due to Su Ming’s Nascent Soul, the clone looked like a normal person!

As Su Ming’s clone moved forward, black fog tumbled about under his feet. Buzzing sounds could be heard faintly, echoing in the air. If anyone lifted their heads to look from the ground, they would definitely be terrified by this scene.

Black Crane Tribe was not far from this mountain range to begin with. Su Ming’s clone would be able to reach it very soon with his current speed. Smoke could be seen coming up from Black Crane Tribe’s mountain from the sky in the distance. It was noon at that moment. Clearly, the members of the tribe had lit up fire to cook their food.

Some children were still playing, and the warriors stationed around Black Crane Tribe were not on alert. Most of them were lounging around.

The stone statue that looked like a crane at the top of the mountain cast a shade on the land under the sunlight. As time passed by, that shade started moving slowly.

It was peaceful in the entire tribe, but that peace turned into cries of surprise when Su Ming arrived. The children quickly ran back to their houses, and the expressions of the lounging warriors changed drastically as they looked towards the sky in shock.

Su Ming’s clone appeared in the sky above Black Crane Tribe with billowing black fog around him. That black appearance and murderous aura that filled his entire body caused the clone’s arrival to be met with commotion from Black Crane Tribe.

He looked at the nervous warriors within that small tribe coldly, then flew down, landing on the peak of the mountain, right on top of the head of that gigantic crane.

As he stood there, Su Ming called out in a deep voice, ”Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe, come out!”

Almost at the same time Su Ming’s clone said those words, several old men immediately rushed out of their own houses from the tribe underneath. There was a thin old man among these people. He held a bone cane in his hand, and with a steely face, he stared at Su Ming. However, that person was feeling rather terrified in his heart.

He had never met Ji Yun Hai before. At that moment, as he saw Su Ming with this appearance, especially that life force and aura of death that filled his entire body, along with that murderous aura, the old man felt as if he could smell the stench of blood in the air.

”Sir, who are you? I am the Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe!” The old man took a step forward and tapped the ground with the cane in his hand before he spoke in a low voice.

Su Ming’s divine clone smiled coldly. He did not speak, only lifted his right hand to point at the direction below him. Immediately, a dried up corpse appeared behind him and charged towards the old man. It landed on the ground with a bang. That corpse was naturally the tribe leader of Black Crane.

The instant he saw that corpse, the Patriarch’s pupils shrank. When the other tribe members beside him saw that corpse, their expressions also changed, and they couldn’t help it.

”What is the meaning of this? Who is this? I have never seen him before.” The Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe gritted his teeth and remarked in a low tone. He had been able to recognize with just one glance that this person was the tribe leader of Black Crane, but he could not admit to his identity no matter what. He could not tell whether this dark man was sent by Madam Ji or by the owner of the mountain range.

Yet no matter who sent him, the Patriarch was not exactly in a position where he could offend either one, which was why he decided to grit his teeth and not admit to his identity.

”It doesn’t matter to me whether you admit it or not.” A freezing glare appeared in the eyes of Su Ming’s clone. He lifted his right hand slowly. This tribe had made him go through all those dangers half a year ago. If Su Ming had not wanted to bring trouble on himself and not destroy this tribe, only choosing to teach them a lesson, then perhaps this would not have happened.

Hong Luo’s appearance and the things that happened later might have been extremely meaningful for Su Ming, but it also made him a lot of enemies in the land of the Shamans. The outcome of it all was not exactly very valuable, and there was in no way Su Ming could accept it if the source of it all did not pay for the consequences.

Almost the instant Su Ming lifted his right hand, the Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe let out a piercing howl and charged over. Behind him, the other powerful warriors of Black Crane Tribe flew up swiftly and charged towards the close as well.

This was different from White Bull Tribe’s restraint. Black Crane Tribe had chosen to attack!

A cold sneer appeared at the corners of Su Ming’s lips. He might not have gotten himself completely used to this body, but if he worked together with the black beetles, his battle prowess would increase by a large margin.

At that moment, as the people from Black Crane Tribe rushed over, Su Ming let out a cold snort. Immediately, a deafening buzz stirred up around him. Then, as if his body was dissolving, the black beetles scattered away and flew up. At the same moment they turned into a black fog, they charged towards thee incoming members of Black Crane Tribe with hisses and killing intent.

At the same time, the true appearance of Su Ming’s clone was revealed. The dried up body and gray eyes made all those who saw him feel terrified.

Shrill cries of pain instantly spread through the attackers. Those people who had rushed over were enveloped by a large amount of black beetles. Blood gushed all over the place from their bodies. They no longer rushed forward, but chose to quickly retreat.

Su Ming watched everything aloofly while standing on the crane’s head. He lifted his right hand and made a seal before pointing in the direction before him. Immediately, the power of the world around him rushed to him with a boom, gathering up into a gigantic sword before him. He lifted that sword and swung it down in the direction below him.

The Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe let out a low growl and pushed his hands forward to crash into the incoming sword. His body shuddered, and a purplish red hue appeared on his face, but he managed to keep that sword in midair.

There was not a hint of change on the clone’s face. He only said one word coldly.

”Explode!”

Once that word was spoken, the sword suddenly exploded and stirred up a whirlwind that swept through the area. The Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe coughed out a mouthful of blood and tumbled backwards.

The instant it happened, Su Ming’s clone took a step forward and disappeared. The Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe saw this with his own eyes, and a bad feeling immediately rose in his heart. As he turned around, his pupils shrank. He saw a finger coming swiftly to tap at the center of his brows.

That life threatening crisis made the Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe bite his tongue and cough out a huge mouthful of blood. His body rapidly withered away and he looked as if he had aged several dozens of years in an instant. His face was covered in wrinkles and his presence weakened. When Su Ming pierced through the center of his brows, his body started scattering away. Clearly, this was just an afterimage.

The old man’s body reappeared several hundreds of feet away. His face was ashen and there was fear in it. Shrill cries of pain rang nonstop all around him. All the warriors in the tribe were surrounded by the invincible black beetles. Those bugs were mysterious insects that Ji Yun Hai had personally refined in the past. It could be said that these bugs had also given him that fiendish reputation in the Shaman Tribe.

There was in no way such a small tribe like this would be able to kill these bugs so easily. After all, even Su Ming had only been able to make these bugs fall asleep once he isolated Ji Yun Hai’s body.

”Sacred Progenitor of Black Crane, I offer my blood to you as a sacrifice, please awaken!”

When the Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe saw his tribe’s warriors dying, his eyes became bloodshot. He tore open his chest ferociously and ripped out his own heart right before Su Ming without caring about his blood flowing out nor his life force gradually diminishing. That heart was still beating as the old man held it high above his head.

A sharp look appeared on Su Ming’s face. Immediately, he heard a large number of voices crying out similar words by his ears. Those people who were fighting against the black beetles imitated the old man’s actions with madness on their faces. They tore open their chests, ripped out their hearts, and held them high in the air.

”Sacred Progenitor of Black Crane, please receive our offerings and awaken… Bring down sacred punishment on this person!”

The Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe coughed out a mouthful of blood. The instant he finished speaking, cracks appeared on the gigantic crane statue at the top of Black Crane Tribe’s mountain. Rumbling sounds reverberated in the air, and the stone on the statue turned into numerous fragments that shot out everywhere. At the same time, a black figure flew up from the shattered stone statue, turning into a huge black crane that was one hundred feet in-size!

With a screech, that crane turned into a ray of black light that charged straight towards the Patriarch of Black Crane Tribe. It bit down on his heart and swallowed it. Once it did so, the black light shone once again, and in the span of a few breaths, the crane devoured all the offered hearts, then with a chilling gaze, it looked towards Su Ming.

”You’re just a puppet at the Berserker Soul Realm. You’re not fit for me to attack you. Leave, or else I won’t mind making you stay and have you become my toy!” As that cold voice came from the black crane’s mouth, an incredibly powerful presence swiftly spread around. That presence was so powerful that it made the weather change slightly, and even the clouds looked as if they had become duller.

Su Ming’s pupils shrank. He stared at the gigantic black crane, and uncertainty rose in his heart.

”Sir Sacred Progenitor, you can’t let him leave!’ The old man who had lost his heart was strangely not dead. He was lying down by the side at that moment, struggling to speak.

”Hmm? All right. I’ll give you the span of ten breaths. If you don’t leave, then I might change my mind and make you stay. I’ll have you know that it’s been several tens of thousands of years since I last killed someone.” The presence within the gigantic black crane increased once again. It looked at Su Ming in a manner of a person looking down on someone else as it spoke slowly.

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled, then he spread his divine sense swiftly to envelope the area, also scanning through the big crane before he eventually gathered it at the small remaining stone left from the shattered stone statue on the mountain.

”Divine sense!” The expression of the gigantic black crane changed. When it saw Su Ming staring at the remaining half of the stone statue, panic immediately appeared in its eyes, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye, turning instead into ghastliness.

”You’re not leaving? Fine! Then stay!” As the huge crane spoke, its presence became stronger once again. Rumbling sounds rang in the air. The wind and clouds tumbled about, and its body grew larger once again, making it now look one thousand feet in size. Its voice was like a tidal wave that spread in all directions.

Yet Su Ming turned a deaf ear to its words and did not even spare it a glance. He walked towards the remaining half of the stone, lifted his right hand, and placed his hand on it.

”You… What are you doing?! Stop! Let’s talk peacefully, bro…”