Pursuit of the Truth

Tian Lin knew that Su Ming was definitely hiding the true extent of his power, but it would have been better if it was any other time to find this. After all, he knew other people hid their levels of cultivation or skills as well. Most people did it, and it was difficult for anyone to say anything about this.

After all, if someone exposed all their skills in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, it would mean that they would no longer have any secrets and everyone would know the true extent of their abilities. Aside from this, it would also mean that it would be difficult for that person to replenish their power within a short period of time, and there would be endless problems waiting for them in the future.

However, they were in a life and death crisis at the moment. Tian Lin did not have time to bother with tact. As he shouted angrily, the intimidating power he had gained after he had his Nascent Divinity change places with his physical body spilled out from within him.

Piercing whistles were getting closer to them, for their sounds were becoming clearer. It was a telling sign that the red threads were swiftly closing the distance between them.

Once they caught up to the group, the only thing awaiting them would be a disaster.

A black light shone in Long Li’s eyes. Five diamond-shaped scales immediately appeared at the center of his brows. The moment they shone with an enchanting light, the gourd he once held immediately appeared in his right hand.

He then lifted his left hand and swiped the gourd, even biting the tip of his tongue to cough up a mouthful of blood. Five black shadows immediately flew out of the gourd, and when Long Li let out a low roar, the presence that belonged to a World Paragon spread out from the five shadows, and they charged towards the third screen of light.

At that moment, Sun Kun’s expression was incredibly grave. He lifted his right hand and struck his forehead. Immediately, his body shuddered, and the nails on all ten of his fingers instantly grew out, until they were seven inches long. They all possessed unparalleled sharpness, and as they grew longer, they sliced through the air. He opened his mouth and let out a roar, then spat out nine rays of different colored light in succession.

A blade, a spear, a sword, a halberd, an axe, a broadaxe, a hook, a fork, and a beast fang club appeared in the air. There were nine different Enchanted Treasures contained within the nine rays of light, and an extraordinary wave of power as well as an intimidating presence was spreading out from them. As Sun Kun swung his arms, these nine Enchanted Treasures turned into nine long arcs that charged towards the third screen of light. As for Sun Kun, he was positioning his hands into claws and flying over with a fierce whistle.

Ye Shen Tong glared at the red threads, and golden light erupted from his eyes. That light seemed to possess corporeal form and covered his face, once it spread out from his eyes. Once it covered his face, it spread to his neck, and in the span of a few breaths, it eventually covered most of his upper body.

All parts of his skin that were covered by this golden light exuded a powerful presence that would cause trepidation to rise in people’s hearts. It was as if there was a physical strength that could overturn the world contained within him.

Clearly, Ye Shen Tong had also chosen not to hold anything back at this moment of crisis and had brought out his true power. As half of his body turned gold, the earth beneath his feet squirmed before charging to him. Layers upon layers of dirt gathered on him, and Ye Shen Tong was once again enveloped in earth, turning into a stone golem that was nearly a hundred feet tall. Strangely, even though he had turned into a golem, half of his body was still shining with that piercing golden light.

As he roared, Ye Shen Tong took a huge stride forward and charged towards the third screen of light.

When he saw that the three people had brought out their full strength, Tian Lin naturally did not hold back any longer. A layer of withered skin immediately appeared on his Nascent Divinity’s body, making it seem like he had turned into an old tree. The shadow of a large tree manifested around him. As its branches swiped through the area, a strange light appeared in Tian Lin’s eyes. He lifted his hands and pushed forward fiercely, and with it, the shadow of the large tree behind him grew so fast from the depths of the ground that it looked as if it wanted to break through the ceiling in the tunnel and rush into the sky. As it grew rapidly, it abruptly fell to the side.

The innumerable number of branches growing out from the crown crawled into the stone walls and disappeared for a short while before crawling out right outside the screen of light. These dozens of branches that crawled out from the dirt in the stone walls were densely packed together, and all of them stabbed the screen like vipers.

There was a solemn look on Su Ming’s face, for the whistling behind him was getting clearly with every moment. When he saw that everyone else had used their full strength, he naturally did not hold back either. However, he did not choose to use the bald crane to break open the seal. Instead, he lifted his right hand, and the killing sword appeared.

Su Ming lifted his left hand and pushed against the ground. His body might have looked as it usually did, but all his power had swiftly gathered on the killing sword, causing it to let out a piercing screech before it turned into a long arc and charged towards the screen of light.

At the same time, Su Ming’s left hand began to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye. In an instant, the withered state of his arm spread to his shoulder, and as it continued spreading swiftly, his body, legs, head, and everything else in his body… besides his right index finger, swiftly withered away.

However, a black light was shining about his right index finger. This was the peak of Su Ming’s Surging Indulger’s divine ability. That one finger did not just possess all of Su Ming’s true physical strength, it also possessed an incredibly great suction force, as if it was a black hole that could devour everything.

The Crimson Python Phoenix’s inborn divine ability, which was part of his physical strength and which he had inherited once he took over the creature, was contained in Su Ming’s finger as well. The power of law that could disassemble all matters turned into ripples reverberating in the air around his finger, and during that instant, Su Ming’s finger landed on the screen of light along with the other people’s divine abilities.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The third screen of light might have been ten something feet thick, but as the five people’s divine abilities attacked it, it flickered a few times, then shattered. At the instant that happened, a large amount of presence from World Planes gushed outwards like a stream of air, crashing into the group’s faces before moving past their bodies.

In truth, if all the Runes sealing the ferocious beasts on the surface still existed, then this seal would have definitely not been broken so easily. Yet at that moment, it was blown apart like a tree without roots that was swept away by wind. The seal was shattering from within already, which was why it had shattered under the five’s attacks.

Instead of saying that the seal had been broken by Su Ming and the others, it would be more accurate to say that it had shattered because it had suffered destructive attacks from both inside and outside.

At the time the screen of light shattered, five long arcs charged past it. However, seven breaths after they had fled past it, dense red threads charged past the spot, still chasing after them.

Instead of ending, the danger had become even greater. The five people were not slow. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, another screen of light appeared before them. This time, the screen of light was several hundreds of feet thick. The five attacked at the same time once again, but this time, the screen of light only swayed a few times before a rebound spread out from it, bouncing back its attackers. The five were sent tumbling backwards, just like what had happened to Long Li.

As Tian Lin looked at the screen of light that was a hundred something feet thick, he sucked in a deep breath. Freezing light flickered in Long Li’s eyes. As for Sun Kun, he was breathing rapidly as he cried out in a sharp voice, ”I don’t know how many of these seals are left, but I’ll need at least an hour for this screen of light!”

Ye Shen Tong glared at the screen of light and whipped his head around to look at the tunnel behind him before returning his gaze to the group.

”We’re in a hurry, so I’ll speak up. I am confident I could break this seal within thirty breaths, but once I cast this Art, I’ll have to pay a huge price for it. It’ll be difficult for me to recover for some time. Forget obtaining any sort of serendipity. At that moment, once I become weakened, there’s a high chance that I will die here!”

When Tian Lin heard Ye Shen Tong’s words, he immediately said firmly, ”Brother Ye, don’t worry. As long as you break the seal, I swear that I will ensure your safety.”

”Brother Ye, you just need to attack, I’ll definitely ensure your safety!” Long Li added in a low voice.

Sun Kun also nodded by the side. None of them showed what they truly thought on their faces.

”Heh heh, do all of you think that I am still a child? I’ve made these sort of promises to others more than ten times, and there was never a single one where even I believed in my own words.

”I can attack, but I will need to absorb most of the physical strength from among one of you by devouring his flesh. Only then will I not be affected once I break the screen of light. But don’t worry, the person whose flesh I’ll devour won’t die. He will just have a large portion of his vitality sapped and take my place to be weakened.” As Ye Shen Tong spoke, his gaze immediately fell on Su Ming. The ferociousness in that unflinching gaze was completely obvious.

The whistling sounds in the tunnel were becoming clearer. The blood red threads were already not too far away from them.

When Ye Shen Tong looked towards Su Ming, Long Li also cast his gaze on him. Sun Kun did the same. Even Tian Lin looked towards Su Ming after a moment of hesitation.

”Fellow Daoist Su, you have the lowest level of cultivation among us. Why don’t you sacrifice yourself and help us achieve our aim? You might even have a chance to obtain a serendipity. Don’t worry, I’ll only take a ninth of your flesh and blood. I won’t endanger your life.” Ye Shen Tong grinned. He had a scar on his face, so when he smiled, he became even more hideous and ghastly.

Su Ming looked at Ye Shen Tong and said unhurriedly, ”Oh? Looks like you’re certain that I’m the weakest among you,”

Ye Shen Tong only smiled fiercely. He did not speak, but instead charged towards Su Ming.

In silence, Long Li took one step back, refusing to take any part in this. A glint appeared in Sun Kun’s eyes, and he, too, moved back. Hesitation appeared on Tian Lin’s face, but after he thought about something, he did nothing to stop Ye Shen Tong as well. However, he did not remind Ye Shen Tong that Su Ming possessed an eight-colored crystal, either.

Su Ming was calm. Almost at the instant Ye Shen Tong strode towards him, a sun appeared in his left eye and a moon manifested in his right eye. His heart was the star, and these three formed a strange loop in his body. At the instant he looked towards Ye Shen Tong, Su Ming activated the Art which he had gained in Crimson Flame Planet, which was naturally the illusion of the star, sun, and moon!

Almost at the moment he executed this Art, Ye Shen Tong’s expression changed. At the instant a dazed look appeared in his eyes, Su Ming charged towards him. Su Ming’s expression was cold and dark, and there was not a single hint of emotion reflected on his face. He closed in on his opponent in the blink of an eye and hurled a punch forward.

When Su Ming threw his fist, Ye Shen Tong coughed up a mouthful of blood. That was him biting the tip of his tongue while immersed in the illusion from Su Ming’s eyes to jolt his pulse so that he would awaken. Then, as he roared loudly, golden light shone on half of his body, and he hurled a punch towards Su Ming.

Boom!

Blood trickled out of the corners of Su Ming’s mouth when he fell backwards, but his expression only became more aloof, and there was even a faint mockery and killing intent within his eyes.

Ye Shen Tong smiled ferociously, but he wouldn’t have been doing that if he had noticed a black shadow appearing at the instant Su Ming’s fist connected with his body before disappearing the next moment. In fact, not even Tian Lin and the rest had noticed it.

”You little brat, I knew since the start that you were hiding your abilities… Hmm?”

Ye Shen Tong was about to take a step forward when his expression changed drastically. A black decaying spot had appeared on his right wrist, as if he had been stung by something!