Pursuit of the Truth

The ripples from that Rune were not strong, but due to the unique environment, it seemed like it had fused with the world, forming a strange absorption force in the place.

’There must be a reason why the Immortals chose to descend in this place!’

Su Ming averted his gaze. He was not concerned with whether there would be any new Immortals descending during the battle. From the moment he stepped out of Thousand River Valley, all his thoughts had merged into one single thought, and that was… to kill Di Tian!

This thought would not change because of any illusion, any power, or anything else. It represented Su Ming’s mind and spirit, as well as the determination lying in the depths of his soul!

’Di Tian’s real self might be strong, but his clone is not unbeatable in the land of Berserkers… Besides…’ A barely noticeable glint shone in Su Ming’s eyes. Aside from all the things he had prepared, he also had a bold plan towards killing Di Tian!

The possibility of success for this plan might not be high, but it was still high enough. Once it succeeded, then the possibility of him killing Di Tian would rise out of nowhere, and this increase in that possibility would practically seal Di Tian’s fate!

Su Ming remained seated on the rock quietly, as a dark, cold smile formed on his lips.

Those from Evil Spirit Sect were the earliest to arrive, and two hours after they saw the first signs of others. Numerous long arcs came charging towards them from the sky in the distance.

Those long arcs seemed to form a gigantic kirin. As it charged forth in the sky, the sounds the people made sounded like the roars of a beast. That kirin was an illusion that had manifested from a Rune that was formed by 9,999 people. All of them worked together in the Rune, causing the kirin to look incredibly mighty and alive!

The roars that came from the kirin caused all the Evil Spirit Sect members to lift their heads and look towards it coldly, even before it had arrived. Wind swept up the sand on the ground, making it seem as if it wanted to lift up the dust and cover up the sky.

Right behind that giant kirin were seven huge mountains several, each of which was tens of thousands of feet tall, charging through the air, but this was not what shocked the Evil Spirit Sect’s disciples. The real thing that caused their pupils to shrink were the seven giants under those seven mountains.

These seven giants were like abnormalities in the world. Each of them was several thousands of feet tall. They had no expressions on their faces, and waves of power that could cause fear to rise in the hearts of all people were spreading out of their bodies. Their eyes were shining with such bloodlust and madness that no one would dare to look them in the eye!

Each of them was carrying a mountain and taking huge strides in the sky as they followed right behind the kirin.

If anyone took a closer look, they would then be able to tell that these half-naked giants had skin like metal and stone. Clattering sounds came from their bodies and rang in the air. They… were not real living beings, but were puppets that had been created with some sort of unique method!

”This is the Hidden Dragon Sect’s kirin formed with sacred thoughts… and there’s also… their Galactic Warrior Immortals!” Qian Chen sucked in a sharp breath. His face turned even paler and his teeth chattered, but he gritted his teeth and told Su Ming everything he knew.

”Hidden Dragon Sect’s kirin is formed through the sacred thoughts gathered from ten thousand people activating the methods of their special cultivation. If there is one person among the ten thousand that can cast most of the divine abilities in Hidden Dragon Sect, then the kirin would even be able to communicate with spirits!

”There’re also these… Galactic Warrior Immortals. Hidden Dragon Sect actually sent seven of them here… This… This shouldn’t be possible. From what I know, these Galactic Warrior Immortals are the most valuable treasures in Hidden Dragon Sect, and each of them possesses power equivalent to the peak of the Second Step!” Qian Chen’s breathing quickened and disbelief appeared on his face.

”These seven giants are known as Galactic Warrior Immortals?” Su Ming’s eyes sparkled, but after a moment, he shook his head slowly.

”They all have power equivalent to Berserkers who attained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm, and each of them have a Berserker’s presence within their bodies…

”I get it now! These seven Galactic Warrior Immortals were created using the flesh and blood of the Berserkers in the land. They didn’t descend here.” Qian Chen sucked in a deep breath and mumbled his last words under his breath.

Su Ming did not speak. He had already managed to tell this before Qian Chen even said anything.

A loud bang echoed in the sky, and the kirin charged through the air, descending on one of the giant stones on the land. At the instant it landed, it seemed as if the stone could not withstand the weight and a large amount of cracks appeared on it, along with cracking sounds. Eventually, it fell to pieces with a bang.

There was a wave of hate and enmity in the kirin’s eyes. Once it cast a glance at the people from Evil Spirit Sect, it closed its eyes. At the instant it did so, the creature’s body dissipated, and right at that moment, ten thousand Hidden Dragon Sect disciples spread out to occupy the area around them. They were all standing right opposite the Evil Spirit Sect in the distance.

The person in the lead was a fair middle-aged man without any beard. He held a dragon staff in his hand, and once his gaze met that of Evil Spirit Sect’s Shen Dong, a bloody red light seemed to shine in his eyes.

Right behind that middle-aged man were eight people. Three of them were women, and the other five men. All of them possessed outstanding power and their aura as Immortals surrounded their bodies. Anyone would be able to tell with just one glance that these people were Immortals who had descended in the land of Berserkers.

The other Hidden Dragon Sect members spread out like a fan around this group of people. On the left were a dozen something young men and women with sullen looks on their faces. Murderous aura filled the air around them.

Among these Hidden Dragon Sect members were two people who made Su Ming fall into a moment of absent-mindedness when he saw them.

One of them was the first powerful Berserker he had seen in the Awakening Realm. He could still remember that feeling of shock he had experienced at that time all those years ago. That person… was Wind Stream Tribe’s Elder… Jing Nan!

Right then, Jing Nan was the beardless middle-aged man standing right in the middle of Hidden Dragon Sect. From his spot on that stone and the instinctive respect the people around him showed, it was not difficult for Su Ming to tell that this person had an incredibly high position in Hidden Dragon Sect!

And his level of cultivation… Su Ming could see the faint ripples belonging to those in Ascendance on him.

”Jingnan[1]... He was originally one of the Sect Elders in Hidden Dragon Sect when he was in the land of Immortals. He was appointed the Sect Master of the Hidden Dragon Sect here, once he descended in the land of Berserkers. Even after his power was suppressed, he still possesses the power of those in the great circle stage of Ascendance,” Qian Chen immediately whispered.

Su Ming remained silent. After a moment, his gaze fell on the second person. The man from his memories was now standing among one of the young men and women to the left.

Chen Chong, as Su Ming remembered him, was a slightly plump person he had met before they climbed up the Wind Stream Mountain. He was a person who had been slightly comical but had incredible talent that was only second to Ye Wang, and he had also left a deep impression on Su Ming.

He was still the same. His current appearance as he stood among the crowd was no different from the person in Su Ming’s memories.

”Hidden Dragon Sect’s Chenchong[2]… This person is rumored to possess the most shocking amount of talent among the younger generation in Hidden Dragon Sect. It is said that while he cannot compare to Ye Wang, he can still somewhat put up a fight to him. But… it is also said that he’s lazy and does not like training… Instead, he likes making friends, and he apparently has close friends all over the world.” When Qian Chen saw the direction where Su Ming looked, he immediately whispered what he knew.

Chenchong might not be laughing and talking with the people in his crowd just as how Su Ming remembered him, but the aloof gaze he cast towards Evil Spirit Sect and the manner of the people gathered around him, as if they were stars surrounding the moon, reminded him of the past. He could still recall how he had stood in the crowd quietly, while standing next to Wind Stream Mountain, and watched as people lavished praises on Chen Chong.

At that time, Su Ming had been completely inconspicuous… just like now. He was just as unnoticeable in Evil Spirit Sect as he had been back then.

He did not know whether this was a coincidence. The scene in his memories seemed to have found a similarity with what was happening right then that allowed Su Ming to overlap his memories with what he was seeing.

Once the seven giants in the sky descended, they threw the mountains in their hands on the ground, and the deafening booming that rose into the air caused even the ground to shake. Right before everyone’s eyes, the seven mountains crashed onto the ground and surrounded the territory occupied by the Hidden Dragon Sect disciples like a Rune formed by seven mountains!

After that, the giants stepped on their own mountains and glared at Evil Spirit Mountain while crouching down.

The forces of Evil Spirit Sect—the eighteen Yin Dragons—started roaring and howling. The members of the two sects seemed to no longer be able to contain their desire for battle.

Yet right at that moment, howling came from a distance. Nine gigantic blue shooting stars sliced through the sky from the direction where Hidden Dragon Sect had come and charged towards them, causing the world to tremble in their wake.

At the same time, three dust devils, which seemed to have connected the sky to the earth, came charging forth with loud booming sounds from the direction where Evil Spirit Sect had come, as they swept up everything in the world. The shooting stars and the dust devils that came from two different directions did not slow down even a single bit as they approached the future battlefield. Instead, the closer they came to the spot, the faster they traveled.

At that moment, the world roared, dust flew in the air, and the universe was cast in shadow!

The dust devils and shooting stars immediately made all the people from Evil Spirit Sect and Hidden Dragon Sect lift their heads to look. Almost at the instant both parties looked over, the nine shooting stars crashed into the three dust devils in midair, right above the spot where the Immortals descended.

Deafening booming sounds shook the sky, and earth rang in the air, and large amounts of ripples appeared in the sky. Waves of impact spread swiftly in all directions, causing the entire sky to start distorting, as if it was about to shatter.

In the midst of these rumbling sounds, the nine shooting stars fell backwards and landed by Hidden Dragon Sect before they turned into nearly ten thousand cultivators. All of these people had dark expressions on their faces, and quite a number of them coughed up blood once they landed on the ground. Among the people in front, Su Ming saw Sky Mist’s ancestor!

He also saw Tian Lan Meng, Tian Lan You, and a face he remembered clearly from his past - Wu La!

At the same time, the three dust devils that seemed to have connected the sky and earth too fell backwards due to the crash and descended on the ground, disappearing and turning into nearly ten thousand cultivators. Once they landed on the ground, there was also quite a number of them who coughed up blood, but an even stronger murderous aura erupted forth from their bodies.

Evil Dust Sect!

Sky Mist Dao!

”Nine Stars of Sky Mist. This is Sky Mist Dao’s renowned Rune. It can be formed with just nine people, and it’s very famous among all Immortal sects. This sect has the greatest enmity with Evil Sect’s Evil Dust Sect, and whenever Immortals fight against each other, those two will always fight each other to the death right from the moment they run into each other!

”Evil Dust Sect’s overall power is the same as that of Evil Spirit Sect, but the people in that sect are more skilled in commanding the powers of earth. Their skills are completely different from Evil Spirit Sect’s Arts to control vengeful souls…” Qian Chen might be a bundle of nerves by then, but he still continued introducing the sects in a low whisper.

Translator’s Notes:

1. Jing Nan/Jingnan: Jing Nan is 荊南 (jing1 nan2), surname + south, and Jingnan is 荆楠 (jing1 nan2), surname + Nan/Phoebe zhennan (a type of tree).

2. Chenchong: First mentioned in ’The Immortals’ Prodigy’.