Pursuit of the Truth

”You said just now that an ancestor of my people reached a state where he could control fate, lives, and death?” Su Ming closed his eyes. After some time, when he opened them, they were already calm.

This sight fell into the Duke of Crimson Flame’s eyes, and praise appeared on his face. One of the keys to becoming a powerful warrior was to be able to calm oneself down within a short amount of time.

It wasn’t that a person who could control his own emotions would definitely become a powerful warrior that could reach the peak, but almost every single powerful warrior at the peak could do this.

”The ancestor of your people, the Sovereign of all races in the fifth True World, had indeed reached a state where he could control fate, lives, and deaths, and we believe that if this war had not occurred, the Sovereign would have definitely surpassed that realm and reached a pinnacle that remains a mystery to all of us.” When the Duke of Crimson Flame spoke about the Sovereign of the fifth True World, fanaticism appeared in his eyes.

”Cultivation is killing, seizing, snatching.” Su Ming remained silent for a short while. When he spoke, the banging sounds in his body became even louder. He also stood up slowly from his seated position. At the moment he straightened up, a powerful presence erupted from his body.

That presence turned into a vortex that swept outwards from where Su Ming was.

The bald crane, which was snoring by the side, shivered at that moment and opened its eyes. When it saw the vortex around Su Ming’s body, it yawned, mumbled a few words under its breath, then returned to sleeping.

”Since you told me so much, you must have a way for me to absorb a sufficient amount of power of World Planes in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. Tell me, I’ll agree to the trade.” Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. He lifted his right hand and furled his fingers slowly into a fist, experiencing the might traveling through his palm.

Forty years ago, his physical body had reached a state where he could resist those in the initial stage of Heaven Cultivation Realm. On this day forty years later, while he still had yet to reach the pinnacle of Heaven Cultivation Realm, his physical body was so strong that he was no longer too far from that state.

”You are an Abyss Builder, but in my memories, the Abyss Builders’ cultivation system is different from yours. You took the wrong path. First of all, this physical body isn’t your true body. The Abyss Builders’ true body is incredibly important. It is their foundation.

”Your true body is…” The Duke of Crimson Flame hesitated for a moment before he looked at Su Ming.

”My true body has been sealed away. Right now, I don’t have enough power to retrieve it,” Su Ming stated flatly.

”Sealed away? Then we can also say that it is in a perfectly safe state. If it is sealed, then it means that someone either cannot or does not want to destroy it. If that is the case, it also means, then it is safe. We don’t have to worry too much about it,” the Duke of Crimson Flame said, after a moment of pensive silence. His thought process seemed to be very strange.

”Let’s not talk about your true body. The Abyss Builders are skilled in building clones. The way they mend their defects is simple and straightforward. With their true bodies, they will mend their souls, and with their clones, they will mend their bodies, laws, potential. Whatever it is that they’re lacking, they will Possess a clone with the ability to mend those defects.

”The body you possess now has a hint of a law that can disassemble and destroy things. Those who possess this power are the Indomitable Fighters and the Crimson Python Phoenixes. Judging by your presence, you should have Possessed a Crimson Python Phoenix’s body and formed a clone from it.

”You practice the Surging Indulgers’ divine abilities… But I have two questions that you’ll have to answer first.” A glint appeared in the Duke of Crimson Flame’s eyes. As he looked at Su Ming, he asked the questions that had been plaguing his mind for a long time.

”First, how did you learn the method we Surging Indulgers use to refine our bodies?

”Second, besides the presence of an Abyss Builder, I can also sense… a hint of Heavenly Phantoms on your soul. Heavenly Phantoms are one of the four races that are chiefs in the fifth True World. Their seal is on your soul.” The Duke of Crimson Flame’s eyes shone brightly as he spoke slowly.

”I come from a place called Yin Death Region. There is a remnant of a few races in that place. I obtained the Surging Indulgers’ cultivation method there and some time later was forcefully sent to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence by an ancient existence in Yin Death Region.

”Its goal is to make me search for their king. As for the seal you speak of, it does indeed exist,” Su Ming said calmly.

The Duke of Crimson Flame frowned, as if he was thinking about something. After a long time, he furrowed his brows even more.

”If I was at the peak of my condition, I could break the seal for you, but now, I am powerless to do so. Still, I’ve looked at the seal carefully. It won’t do much harm to you. In fact, it’ll bring a certain amount of benefits.

”Let’s not talk about that, either, for now. I do indeed have a way for you to obtain the power of World Plane in this galaxy, but that is strictly limited for your physical body. Yet this method will cause this physical body of yours to no longer be able to use any sort of divine ability. You will only be able to train your Qi.

”That’s why you’ll need to Possess another body to train your cultivation base.

”If you agree to it, then I will teach you the Great Art of World Indulgence: Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole. If you practice your cultivation with this Art, you will be able to devour all manner of people and objects that possess the power of World Planes. You will devour the power of Plane Worlds from World Paragons and devour the Essence of a World contained in all things in the universe, cultivation planets, and even a World.

”This Art can make you stronger for a short amount of time and let you possess an incredibly powerful physical body. It is the strongest racial Art of us Surging Indulgers… but if you practice this Art, you will need to go through nine disasters as punishment. If you manage to make it through, then you will become stronger, if you don’t, you will die.

”But this is your clone. Even if you die, it’ll be fine. It won’t affect your true soul,” the Duke of Crimson Flame explained in a low voice.

Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then looked at the Duke of Crimson Flame and nodded.

At the instant he did so, the Duke of Crimson Flame lifted his right hand and pointed at Su Ming. A vortex immediately appeared at the center of his brows, and a cultivation method that caused his heart to shake from shock instantly emerged in his head as the vortex started spinning.

After some time, when the vortex at the center of Su Ming’s brows disappeared, a bright light appeared in his eyes. Once he clenched his right hand into a fist, a faint vortex grew on his palm.

”The Crimson Python Phoenix’s power to destroy all things, the Surging Indulgers’ Art of Explosion Fixation, and the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows will allow your clone to live through several disasters serving as punishments. If you gain a comprehensive knowledge of those Arts, then your strength will be limitless in the future.” The Duke of Crimson Flame sucked in a deep breath, expectation shining in his eyes.

”But before you practice this Art, you will need to choose another clone. You must be careful in choosing one. I suggest that you pick one of those ferocious spirits that have been sealed away. Not only do they have inborn divine abilities, their blood has also fused thoroughly with the laws of their world. It will make the speed of your absorption of the power of World Planes become even faster.”

Su Ming nodded. With a sparkle in his eyes, he spread his Atman outwards and covered the entire area. A crease suddenly appeared between his brows. He remembered that before he went into isolation, the storage bags that belonged to Long Li, Sun Kun, and Jing Nan Zi were left behind. In fact, Jing Nan Zi even had a treasured spear that was now without an owner.

When Tian Lin had chosen to self-destruct earlier, he had said that if he managed to form the Growth Armor, Su Ming could take it.

Su Ming did not immediately take away all these spoils of war in the past because he had been absorbing the physical power in the area. Since the Duke of Crimson Flame had shifted the entire sealed region, those items should naturally still be around.

However, when Su Ming sent his Atman sweeping through the area, he discovered nothing. After a moment of pensive silence, he recalled the Duke of Crimson Flame’s momentary pause and gaze when he spoke about Jing Nan Zi’s storage bag earlier, and he came to a swift understanding.

Without batting an eyelid, he cast a glance at the bald crane, which was sleeping not too far in the distance. He had no idea whether it was a coincidence, but the bald crane turned its body around, as if it had noticed Su Ming’s presence, pointing its butt his way before continuing to snore away.

Su Ming flipped his right hand over, and a crystal immediately appeared in his hand. He threw it on the ground casually. The crystal fell on a frozen purplish black molten rock and let out a clear sound.

Almost at the moment that sound appeared, there was a whooshing sound, and the bald crane was beside Su Ming’s feet. It seized the crystal with its claws. Its eyes sparkled, and it looked pleasantly surprised.

”Huh? I picked up a crystal.”

”Give me Long Li and the others’ storage bags,” Su Ming said in a low voice while looking at the bald crane.

”What? What did you say? I don’t have it. I don’t have anything.” The bald crane blinked, putting on a puzzled face.

”All the crystals in the storage bags belong to you, and all the items in there belong to me.” Su Ming’s expression was as calm as usual as he continued speaking flatly.

The bald crane was stunned for a moment, then it scratched its bald head. The next moment, as if it had just registered the meaning behind Su Ming’s words, it immediately put on an enraged expression, and there was even a hint of hurt on its face.

”I really didn’t take it! I didn’t take the storage bags! There’s another person here, he might have taken it! I didn’t take it! I did not!” The bald crane flapped its wings and turned its head around to glare at the Duke of Crimson Flame, looking as if it was absolutely certain that the he was the one who had taken the storage bags.

The Duke of Crimson Flame frowned, then smiled wryly. He did not try to explain himself.

”Long Li’s World Stone, Jing Nan Zi’s Enchanted Treasure and his World Stone, and Tian Lin’s Growth Armor. I just want these four items. You can have the rest,” Su Ming said, frowning.

But the bald crane continued to look in great distress, as if Su Ming’s words had just badly humiliated it. As it became flustered and exasperated, it flapped its wings nonstop, and its body even turned red due to its agitation.

Su Ming cast the bald crane a profound look, then brought out the gourd from his bosom at a relaxed pace. He caressed it a few times with his left hand, and rays of green light immediately shone from within.

The eyes of the bald crane immediately went wide, and fear appeared on its face. It retreated with a whoosh, even instinctively transforming into a large mutt. This was clearly the strongest form in its mind.

”Give it,” Su Ming said flatly.

”But I really didn’t take it… I really didn’t.” The bald crane looked as if it was about to cry.

Su Ming cast the bald crane another look. This time, when he lifted his left hand, a few soft feathers appeared on his palm.

Those feathers were very soft, and when they appeared on Su Ming’s palm, the bald crane was taken aback. It found those feathers to be rather familiar, but before it could think of anything, it saw Su Ming tying a few knots on the feathers.

When the bald crane saw this sight, it shuddered violently under the Duke of Crimson Flame’s puzzled gaze. It understood very well just what Su Ming was doing at that moment, and it also remembered just who those feathers belonged to…

When the bald crane thought of the consequences, it immediately forced out a smile and touched a few parts on its body while shivering. Then, it threw out a long crimson spear, two World Stones with the power to capture souls spreading out from within them, and a green seed that was the size of a palm.

”Hey, Sir Su, don’t be angry, put down the feathers, please. Don’t make the doll now. I was just joking with you, you know? I’ll give it to you. I’ll give it all to you!”