Pursuit of the Truth

It was quiet. Only the hundreds of people within Evil Spirit Sect were floating in midair and looking at the Thousand River Valley in the distance.

Compared to the pale and trembling Outer Sect disciples, the Inner Sect disciples all had cold expressions on their faces, and a wild air was seeping right through their very bodies. There was also a hint of excitement and blood lust that could be detected within them.

They were members of Evil Spirit Sect and the disciples of Evil Sect. This was something that could be felt incredibly clearly from the Inner Sect disciples at that moment.

There was a layer of fog that surrounded these Evil Spirit Sect members during this dark night. Su Ming stood amid the crowd with an indifferent expression on his face as he swept his gaze past that fog around him.

It covered all the people from Evil Spirit Sect, and it seemed to have fused together with the darkness around it. Whatever was within could not be seen clearly, and unless the person’s divine sense surpassed that of Shen Dong, it would be difficult for them to see that there was anything off about that fog.

Su Ming could see that this fog was formed by vengeful souls. They let out silent screams while floating about.

”These Immortals style themselves as righteous and call us evil… If they run into us, then they will fight us to the death. Now… you can kill to your heart’s content!” Shen Dong’s voice was cold, and there was even a sinister and chilling tone within it.

”We will first offer Blood Sacrifices, while the rest of you will have to seal off all the gates in this place and make sure that not one of those in Hidden Dragon Sect can escape!”

Almost at the instant the Grand Sect Elder said those words, the thirty something Inner Sect disciples swiftly turned their gazes on the two hundred odd Outer Sect disciples on the flying Enchanted Vessel.

A biting chill immediately appeared, and besides all the dozen something aloof gray-robed people standing at the edge, the expressions of all the other two hundred something Outer Sect disciples changed abruptly.

The clothes of those people in gray robes showed their identities clearly. They were all the outstanding Berserkers who had changed their blood inheritance. They were all the Sect Elders of the Outer Sect, just like Zhao Chong.

The Inner Sect disciples would not easily provoke them when it came to the Blood Sacrifice.

Not all of the Outer Sect disciples were afraid either. There were several dozens of people within who were laughing ferociously, or had dark expressions on their faces, or were aloofly letting the ripples of their power to erupt forth from their bodies. Those ripples fluctuated in the air but were hidden away by the fog around them, which prevented them from spreading outside.

However, most of the Outer Sect disciples were trembling once they heard about the Blood Sacrifice.

Su Ming had heard about the Blood Sacrifice from Bao Qiu. This was a combat divine ability from Evil Spirit Sect. When they fought against their enemies, they would devour their companions’ flesh and blood in exchange for a temporary strength. They would trap the souls of those that were sacrificed within them, which would make them lose their sense of pain and bring out an incredibly great amount of potential.

The more people were sacrificed, the greater their potential would be, and if the level of cultivation among the sacrifices was higher, those who devoured them would be able to bring out more potential as well!

If a certain level was reached when practicing this divine ability, those who executed this Blood Sacrifice would also be able to devour all the living souls around them to maintain their power or to strengthen their bodies. However, there was a drawback to this. After all, all skills had their limits, and the limit of this Blood Sacrifice was that it could at most increase a the cultivator’s power by a stage, and it would not last long.

Almost at the instant Shen Dong declared the start of the Blood Sacrifice, the Inner Sect disciples looked over with hostile gazes. At the moment most of the Outer Sect disciples sank into anxiety and nervousness, the thirty something Inner Sect disciples swiftly flew towards the flying Enchanted Vessel.

Shrill screams of pain that were smothered by the fog and could not travel outwards echoed in Su Ming’s ears. Qian Chen’s face turned completely bloodless from terror. Perhaps he had indeed been able to gain some results from mobilizing his power of a laborer, since the Inner Sect disciples mostly ignored him.

The screen of light on the flying Enchanted Vessel had turned into a ravine that stopped all the Outer Sect disciples from running away, turning itself into a cage!

Su Ming stood at his spot, and a frown slowly appeared between his brows. He saw these Outer Sect disciples dying sad and painful deaths. They died under the hands of their own sect members. Their flesh and blood were torn apart, and they were turned into vengeful souls that were absorbed by the Inner Sect disciples. The pieces of flesh did not disintegrate either, but instead moved to surround those people and turned into a piercing, bloody, and brilliant ray of blood-red light.

The faces of those who had killed a fellow sect member from the Outer Sect would start distorting, and their would turn blood-red once they completed their kill. Their cultivation bases spread out of their bodies without any reservation. All of them were slightly stronger than before, and the murderous aura from them was practically billowing in the air.

The Sect Elders in gray robes were as calm as ever and did not bother themselves too much with what was happening around them, as if they were already used to this and were immune to it. The eyes of outstanding disciples within the Outer Sect flashed, and they swiftly charged out to fight against the Inner Sect disciples.

Swiftly, two or three Inner Sect disciples died painful and horrible deaths, becoming someone else’s Blood Sacrifice!

When Su Ming saw all of this, he remembered the rules of Evil Spirit Sect, the one about the sect not forbidding their disciples from killing each other. Only then did he gain a deeper understanding towards this particular rule.

”So this is the Evil Sect…” he said softly.

When Su Ming cast his eyes towards Thousand River Valley, which was located in the distance, he suddenly felt that this was quite ironic. This style of Evil Spirit Sect to fight it out among themselves before a fight had caused them a large amount of deaths before they had even reached Hidden Dragon Sect’s branch.

Yet, the deaths of the weak had brought greater strength to the strong!

This was especially prevalent among some of the thirty something Inner Sect disciples. About eight of them had not stopped after killing a fellow sect member from the Outer Sect, but continued with their slaughter. One of them was an Inner Sect disciple that was standing the closest to Su Ming. This person looked incredibly fragile and tall, but his power, which was not at all weak, and his bloodthirst were evident on first glance.

Three Outer Sect disciples had already died in his hands. He was currently holding onto a human head, and as he lifted it high above himself, fresh blood poured on his face, causing him to look ferocious and hideous even without needing expending any effort. Then, he fixed his gaze on Su Ming.

With a dark smile, that person took a wide step forward and charged towards Su Ming. Killing intent shone in his eyes as he was getting closer. With a calm expression, Su Ming looked the person closing in on him with the human head in hand. Since he was charging into his own death, then he had no reason to blame Su Ming for his viciousness.

One step, two steps, three steps… At the instant that Inner Sect disciple was about to reach Su Ming, Shen Dong’s cold voice suddenly echoed in the area.

”The Blood Sacrifice has ended! All those who have successfully participated in the Blood Sacrifice come with me and attack Hidden Dragon Sect!”

Shen Dong’s words echoed in the air, and the Inner Sect disciple that had closed in on Su Ming stopped moving. He gave Su Ming a dark smile, then turned around and no longer bothered about him as he went to Shen Dong.

The thirty something Inner Sect disciples and the few Outer Sect disciples that had participated in the Blood Sacrifice flew up and turned into long arcs. Then, under Shen Dong’s lead, who was followed by eight powerful warriors who had descended in Evil Spirit Sect, the forty odd long arcs charged towards Thousand River Valley.

A bloody massacre was about to rain down in this place!

At the same time, the people in gray robes in the flying Enchanted Vessel took a step forward with aloof expressions on their faces, and once they formed a seal with both their hands, they pushed them onto the flying Enchanted Vessel, and immediately, it flew up to charge towards Thousand River Valley. A piercing dark light erupted swiftly from the vessel.

It instantly covered an area spanning hundreds of lis underneath, causing the place below to look as if it had been sealed off, turning it into a place with no escape!

Soon after, seven of the gray-robed people that had stayed behind sat down cross-legged on the Enchanted Vessel, while the remaining one stepped out and charged downwards towards Hidden Dragon Sect.

At that moment, all those people on the vessel, including Qian Chen, only noticed after some time that Su Ming, who was originally standing right beside Qian Chen, had disappeared without a trace at some unknown point of time.

A shocking boom suddenly rang through the air. It came from the ground, and it was from the great Rune of Hidden Dragon Sect’s branch in the valley.

That Rune would not be shown on regular days. At that moment, as that boom echoed in the air, it manifested itself to reveal a gigantic waterfall. It was in the shape of a ring, and it completely surrounded Thousand River Valley. The sounds of rushing water filled the area, and an enraged voice shot out from within the valley inside that waterfall.

”Shen Dong! How dare you violate the agreement between the Immortals and the evil Immortals?! If you dare surround our Hidden Dragon Sect today, then we will definitely destroy your entire Evil Spirit Sect in the future!”

The answer to this enraged voice was a dark peal of laughter filled with a wild and untamed air, along with Shen Dong lifting his right hand to seize the air in the direction of that waterfall that served as the sect’s mountain gate. Immediately, a huge ghost claw stretched out from the air beyond the waterfall and grabbed it before yanking it upwards.

With it, loud booming sounds that shook the sky and earth shot into the air. Right before everyone’s eyes, the water from the waterfall was yanked upwards and started flowing into the sky. The waterfall trembled, and a big gap appeared within the endlessly falling water!

”This is not the first sect I’ve destroyed, and neither will it be the last… Charge in! Leave no one alive! If you see a person, get their soul, if you see a corpse, get its medicinal cores, if you see a Nascent Soul, devour it! Make this place completely void of life!”

As Shen Dong’s ghastly voice echoed in the air, he took a step forward and stepped right through the gap in the waterfall. Those members of Evil Spirit Sect standing behind him, including Bao Qiu, charged forth and entered Hidden Dragon Sect’s branch as well!

When Bao Qiu moved through the gap, she lifted her head and looked at the Enchanted Vessel up ahead. She did not know when Su Ming would take action, but if he did not do so right then, he would be too late to the party.

Su Ming was standing on the hanging bridge within Thousand River Valley at that moment. With a calm expression on his face, he walked forward. He did not move quickly, but his body was like a specter that no one could see clearly. A breath ago, he was still on the hanging bridge, but a breath later, he was already outside a big hall to the left of the valley.

Right at that moment, a loud boom rang out all around him, and he saw a huge gap being ripped apart in the air right before him. Shen Dong walked through it with one step, and all the Evil Spirit Sect members behind him charged straight through to reveal themselves in the valley.

The slaughter began just like that. With enraged howls, several dozens of long arcs flew up from Hidden Dragon Sect and charged towards the Evil Spirit Sect members in the sky. Banging sounds reverberated in the air, and blood poured down from the sky down onto the ground in the form of bloody rain once the killing started.