Pursuit of the Truth

’Chen Da Xi!’

At the moment Su Ming saw Zhao Chong’s appearance with his divine sense, the first thing that popped up into his head was this person’s identity! The man might look like Ugly Little Thing’s big brother, but Su Ming was certain that Zhao Chong was currently occupying it!

’I see, it’s Possession!’

The freezing glare in Su Ming’s eyes was hidden away because they were closed. He had formulated his guesses earlier, but had overlooked Possession, because there was something in this matter that did not make sense.

Zhao Chong was a Nascent Soul cultivator among the Immortals, and that meant he was equivalent to those in the initial stage of the Berserker Soul Realm. This sort of person would only choose Possession when they were gravely injured.

Moreover, if they chose to Possess a Mortal, then their power would be greatly affected, and these people would usually choose not to Possess others because of that.

But this Zhao Chong was apparently not the case…

Su Ming swept his divine sense through the karst cave, and the dried up corpses with the same expression and actions all around him instantly made a thought appear in his head.

’Could it be that it’s related to his cultivation method?’

The corpses around were clearly Zhao Chong’s disciples. Su Ming could already imagine these people consuming the medicinal cores Zhao Chong gave them every single day when they were brought to be his disciples. Once they had taken a certain amount, they would be killed, and then… all of them would eventually end up here as a dried up corpse.

Ugly Little Thing’s older brother was the last person Zhao Chong had Possessed.

Su Ming was the person who was about to take his place.

’Zhao Chong had mentioned a time limit of a year before, so he must have wanted me to take one of those medicinal cores every single day for a year… but now, it has only been eight months and he chose to take action. By how aggravated he is, it would seem like he harbors a deep grudge against me…’

Su Ming laughed coldly in his heart. Naturally, he knew exactly what made Zhao Chong act this way. After all, Su Ming had practically emptied out the man’s stock, and had even almost made Zhao Chong’s heart shatter in pain over his loss.

It would also seem like Zhao Chong could not find it in himself to give up on this, which made it seem that he was caught in a bind. This then turned into a situation where as long as Su Ming stretched out his hand, the medicinal cores would arrive on his palm, right until Zhao Chong’s pockets were completely emptied. Then, in his rage, he decided to act earlier.

Su Ming could already imagine the grievance Zhao Chong harbored and the gloom he felt…

Su Ming was not in a hurry to attack. He started sizing up Zhao Chong with his divine sense, and once he scanned this middle-aged man’s body, he noticed something strange.

If this person’s body truly came from Chen Da Xi, then he should look like he was in his twenties, but his body… now looked like that of a middle-aged man.

’It should be a diabolical cultivation method. Once he Possesses a body, he will start absorbing its flesh and essence…’ Su Ming sent his divine sense sweeping through all the dried up corpses in the area.

’He will also absorb the Possessed’s life force and his soul. Once he finishes absorbing everything, the body will turn into a dried up corpse… This isn’t Possession, this is… cannibalism!’

Su Ming focused his divine sense on Zhao Chong.

At that moment, the body Possessed by Zhao Chong suddenly started trembling, and once he opened his mouth, a layer of green fog swiftly flew out.

An indistinct figure, made entirely of fog, gradually floated towards Su Ming. As it tumbled about, Su Ming could vaguely tell that this was a Nascent Soul!

The Nascent Soul’s eyes shone with a fierce glare when it looked at Su Ming.

”You little brat, I’d rather devour you first than absorb Chen Da Xi’s flesh and essence! How dare you eat so many of my medicinal cores?! Damn you! I went through a lot to get those medicinal cores, they came from my blood, sweat, and tears!

”You sure ate them happily enough, huh?! Today I’ll make you pay back several fold for how much you ate!”

Zhao Chong’s anger had been accumulating for the past eight months, and the grudge he harbored towards Su Ming was incredibly great. As he roared, his Nascent Soul rushed forward and closed in on Su Ming.

When he approached him, a ferocious smile appeared on the Nascent Soul’s lips. He was practically seeing himself taking over Su Ming’s body once he lunged at him. Then, he would absorb his flesh and essence and devour his soul. He could already see himself absorbing all the nourishment that been provided to this body by the medicinal cores the child had eaten during the past eight months.

Ever since Zhao Chong became a Sect Elder in Evil Spirit Sect, he had taken in countless disciples, and all of them could not escape from his palm, but similarly, none of them had eaten as much as Su Ming while making him so utterly mortified by the amount he took.

In fact, he could still occasionally hear those words that had nearly made him cough up blood every single month over the past eight months.

”Master, I ran out of medicine.”

”Master, I finished them…”

”Master, I finished them again. Could you give me more this time?”

”Master, could you give me another type of medicinal core? The one I was taking no longer gives me any kind of feeling.”

”Master, can’t you change it?”

Zhao Chong shook his head to clear his mind, then turned into a dark ray of light that charged towards the center of Su Ming’s brows. He grinned ferociously, feeling extremely invigorated. This was a joy from being on the verge of breaking free from the torture he had to endure for the past eight months. During them, and especially in the last few months, he had even wondered whether he had owed this person something in his previous life, because how could he have received such a bizarre person as his disciple…

”Let’s see you eating more, you jerk!” Zhao Chong growled.

At the instant his Nascent Soul touched the center of Su Ming’s brows, he rushed into his body. His ferocious laughter reverberated in the host’s soul, and Su Ming opened his eyes. There was a cold glare within them, but his expression was calm.

In this world, there was nothing else that was less terrifying than Possession to Su Ming!

Unless the person who was Possessing him had a will that was stronger than his, which had been refined into an imperishable will after going through endless cycles of reincarnations in the Undying and Imperishable World, then all people attempting Possession on him were just inviting disaster to themselves!

Clearly, it was impossible for this Zhao Chong to possess that sort of will!

At the instant his Nascent Soul rushed into Su Ming’s body, Su Ming lifted his right hand and tapped a few spots on his body in succession. Every single time his finger fell, it would look as if he had placed a seal on his own body.

After several taps, his body turned into an inescapable cage for Zhao Chong, but the man was completely unaware of it at that moment. He was still immersed in his own joy as he rushed straight towards Su Ming’s Dantian Region after he entered his body.

This was his habit. Every single time he Possessed his disciple, he would not devour their souls straight away. He would instead choose to suppress them, then absorb their flesh and blood, and take over their Dantian Region so that he could control them as if he was controlling his own body. Then, he would slowly enjoy his meal.

Usually, he would need to take a full year to devour a person, and while the process was slow, it was something he enjoyed immensely.

At that moment, he was merely acting according to habit by charging towards Su Ming’s Dantian Region.

”This little brat has indeed been eating a lot of my stuff over the past eight months. Even the color of his bones has already changed, and his flesh as well as his blood also feel slightly different. Ha, it’s your fault for eating so much, now it’s all mine!”

It was unfortunate for Zhao Chong that he he had not reached the Bone Sacrifice Realm before he was made to change his body by those in Evil Spirit Sect and was forced to practice the Evil cultivation methods. He might have formed his Nascent Soul, but his knowledge regarding Berserker Bones was incomplete.

Besides, Su Ming had all his bones turned into Berserker Bones. If his spine had been the only thing turned, then Zhao Chong would naturally have immediately noticed it.

In his glee, Zhao Chong did not even notice that Su Ming had sealed all the exits in his body. He was still acting on habit and charging towards Su Ming’s Dantian Region, and he was getting closer, and closer still…

He could already imagine it—that Dantian Region would be filled with sweetness, and after going through the nourishment provided by the medicinal cores, a large amount of essence would definitely have gathered there. That Dantian Region would also be empty, just waiting for him, the only spiritual entity around, to go and devour it.

In the past… every single one of his encounters were the same.

However, this time…

Zhao Chong charged forward with anticipation brimming in him, but when he arrived before Su Ming’s Dantian Region, he was left stunned. He found himself completely dumbfounded, and his jaw went slack in shock.

Unlike what he imagined, Su Ming’s Dantian Region was not filled to the brim with essence that had accumulated over the past eight months, there was only a gigantic Nascent Soul sitting cross-legged there, and he was much larger than Zhao Chong’s own Nascent Soul!

Perhaps it could no longer be called a Nascent Soul. This was Su Ming’s Nascent Divinity!

At that moment, Su Ming’s Nascent Divinity had his eyes opened and was looking at Zhao Chong’s Nascent Soul calmly. After recovering from his shock, Zhao Chong suddenly let out a piercing shriek.

He shuddered, and as he screamed, he quickly retreated, almost disintegrating in fright. Whatever he thought, he had never expected that the disciple he originally thought was prey… would actually be a monster!

It was especially so when he saw the divine flow of power within that Nascent Soul. This was clearly a Nascent Divinity!

’Nascent Divinity! He’s at least at Nascent Divinity! Damn it, how could this happen?! No wonder he took so many medicinal cores! How could this happen?! He’s definitely not Chen Da Xi’s little brother!’

At that moment, Zhao Chong’s mind was a mess. Terror filled his entire Nascent Soul. His mind went blank, and the only thought he had at that moment was to rush out of Su Ming’s body. He even had a feeling that he had just jumped straight into a trap. When he remembered just how pleased he had been and what he had done, he felt like crying.

It was like the creature he originally thought was just a harmless little sheep waiting to be devoured had suddenly turned into an ancient, ferocious beast the instant he opened his mouth to devour it while feeling all smug about it.

’Damn it, this monster must be practicing a cultivation method that is similar to mine! He wants to devour me!!’

The more Zhao Chong thought about it, the more he trembled in fear. Right at the instant he wanted to rush out of Su Ming’s body, a bang went off in his head, and he was bounced off. Then, to his shock, he discovered that Su Ming’s body had turned into a cage… and he could not leave!

He heard a cold harrumph reverberating in his head.

”Is my body a place where you can come and go as you please?” Su Ming’s voice was cold. At the same time it reached Zhao Chong’s mind, it made the man shiver even more, and his fear grew. As he shivered, he knelt down and started kowtowing repeatedly.

”Senior, please spare me. Please, spare me. I know my mistakes now. I didn’t manage to recognize you earlier. It was entirely my mistake. As long as you don’t kill me, then I’m willing to serve you. Senior, please spare me…”