Pursuit of the Truth

The green seed was the Growth Armor that was formed after Tian Lin had self-destructed, and it was one of the reasons why Jing Nan Zi had spared Tian Lin in the past. The Growth Armor was the size of a palm, and there was a faint bloody stench spreading out from it. There were also some faint and indistinct venous paths shining in either a bright or dark light.

As Su Ming held the Growth Armor, he sent his Atman into it. After some time, the Growth Armor suddenly let out a brilliant ray of light. That light illuminated the entire area within an instant. A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He took a step backwards and threw the Growth Armor on the ground.

Bang!

The sealed region started shaking in a manner as if an earthquake was happening. The meteor around the sealed region also started shivering because of it. A big tree that would require several people to encircle appeared before Su Ming. A large number of roots spread out and crawled swiftly into the ground, as if they were taking root here. At the same time, an endless number of branches grew densely on the tree. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a big tree that was a hundred something feet tall.

The Duke of Crimson Flame’s eyes sparkled brightly as he stood by the side. He cast a few scrutinizing glances at the tree, but he did not speak. The bald crane’s eyes went wide, and it suddenly began regretting in its heart, because it had not expected that this thing, which did not taste good when it bit down on it, could turn into a big tree.

Su Ming lifted his right hand and pressed his palm flat on the tree trunk. At the instant his right hand touched it, his Atman increased exponentially, like he had fused together with the tree. It was as if the tree’s divine sense had become Su Ming’s perception.

Su Ming saw the meteor, the black and boundless galaxy beyond, the occasional short bursts of light, and the silence that seemed to last for an eternity.

After some time, when Su Ming pulled his mind back to his own body, he looked at the tree and exhaled deeply.

’It can allow my Atman to cover an incredibly large area for a short amount of time. If I can utilize this well, it would definitely have mysterious effects, and there should be plenty of other effects on this thing as well, since Jing Nan Zi had placed such importance on it and this Growth Armor could only appear after Tian Lin offered up his life.’

When Su Ming lifted his right hand, the tree swiftly withered away. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a palm-sized seed once again, but its color was slightly duller now.

Once Su Ming put away the Growth Armor, his gaze fell on the two World Stones that were filled with the power to capture souls. As he looked at them, he could sense the power of World Planes contained within them.

’Once I become a World Paragon, I will need to absorb the Essence of ten thousand Worlds to slowly increase my power. If I am to go back and forth between Worlds whose Essence of the Worlds has not acknowledged me, I’ll need these sort of World Stones created from my own World to replenish the used up power of World Planes.

’This means that such items…. aren’t rare in the galaxy beyond. But in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, they’re a supreme treasure that will make all the unlawful World Paragons go crazy over.’ Su Ming touched the surface of the World Stone and sensed a prickling feel on his hand, but it did not hurt. It just felt as if the item he touched was filled with sharp needles.

’It’d be a pity to use it to activate the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole.’

Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then flung his right hand and put away the two World Stones into his storage bag. These sort of items that were incredibly rare in the Barren Lands of Divine Sense would have greater uses later.

Once he finished doing all these, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He lifted his right hand and seized the air. The long red spear Jing Nan Zi had left behind after he died flew towards him, and Su Ming grabbed it.

”I once had a long spear just like this,” Su Ming mumbled. He remembered the Undertaker of Evil’s Spear. It might have just been an imitation the first God of Berserkers had created and the true Undertaker of Evil’s Spear lay in the depths of Great Yu Imperial Palace, but that copy had accompanied Su Ming for many years, and it had even gone on a campaign with him as he conquered the lands in all directions to gather up an endless amount of battle souls to refine itself.

It was a pity that it had exploded in the air and turned into ashes.

The long red spear let out buzzing sounds in Su Ming’s hands, and there was a thick, bloody stench spreading out from it, as if it was not willing to be held by Su Ming.

He remained silent for a moment, then pushed his right hand forward and wrapped his fingers tightly around the spear. The vast Qi in his body instantly exploded forth to cover the entire spear.

”Even if you refuse to give in and submit to me, you will still have to be used by me,” Su Ming said flatly. He no longer bothered about the long spear’s will. With his right hand holding its body, he swung it in the air before him. This instantly produced a sharp whistle. Afterimages of the long spear appeared all around him, and there were thousands of them, making it so that no one would be able to discern which was the real one when they looked at the numerous copies in the air.

Su Ming’s right arm eventually stopped before his body. The tip of the spear pierced into the ground with a bang, and at the same time, a strange light sparkled in his eyes.

”This item isn’t merely a long spear…”

Su Ming loosened his grip over the spear, then lifted his fingertips and flicked the body of the spear that had pierced the ground. At the instant a clear sound echoed in the air, the spear was immediately disassembled before Su Ming as it shivered. It turned into an endless amount of red liquid that flowed up his fingertips. In the blink of an eye, it covered his entire right arm and turned into a vambrace as well as a rerebrace.

There was a strange, bright light flowing through the red vambrace and rerebrace, especially on the spot of the bicep. There were even countless tiny runic symbols carved there which formed a single word.

Guard!

That word was guard!

The Duke of Crimson Flame was watching Su Ming’s actions all this while. When it saw the vambrace and rerebrace appearing on Su Ming’s right arm, a glint appeared in his eyes. As for the bald crane, it currently had an agonized expression on its face, and was feeling incredibly regretful. The more it looked at the spear, the more it could see how outstanding it was, and the more its heart ached.

’He’s a bully. He’s a real bully. He snatched away the gourd, the seed, and even took away the two pretty looking stones. Even that intimidating long spear couldn’t escape his grasp… Damn it, I’ll endure this. I’ll endure it! Endure… Endure…’ The bald crane gritted its teeth, feeling as if flesh had just been stripped off its body.

”Your foundation is set. I suggest that you go to the other cultivation planets and expand your horizons. You might even find a clone that will suit you. Also, you have to be careful of the True Guards from the four Great True Worlds. This short span of a hundred years isn’t enough for them to forget what happened in Crimson Flame Planet.

”We left in time in the past, but we were also cut off from all news regarding the outside world. I wonder what sort of effect has been brought to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence due to the accident in Crimson Flame Planet,” the bald Duke of Crimson Flame said in a low tone. Once he cast a glance at Su Ming, he closed his eyes and began meditating.

He had already stated his piece, and no matter what Su Ming chose, he would follow him. He would stay by Su Ming’s side to protect him.

Su Ming disappeared from the sealed region. When he reappeared, he was standing on the meteor. All he could see was a dark galaxy. There was a sense of authenticity within the darkness in the galaxy which Su Ming saw. This was the first time he truly stood in a real galaxy.

The few times he had wandered into the galaxy with his soul from Yin Death Region could not compare to what he felt now.

Su Ming liked this darkness and this sense of authenticity.

He looked at it for some time before he sat down quietly on the surface of the meteor. He lifted his right hand, then struck the meteor under him that was nearly ten thousand lis big.

Bang!

As the meteor trembled, it started to move out of sync with the other meteors around it and gradually changed its direction. After a moment, with a loud whoosh, it left the trajectory the meteors were going in and flew out alone into the dark galaxy.

It had no goal, no place that it must go to. Su Ming sat on the meteor and let it charge forward. At that moment, his gray hair spilled over his shoulders. He was dressed in a white robe which was the Sacred Constellation Robe hiding itself, and the True Guard’s vambrace and rerebrace on his right arm.

His expression was indifferent and his eyes were cold. He looked at the galaxy quietly and simply allowed time to pass.

One year, two years, three years…

This solitary meteor charged through the galaxy in the shape of a long arc that traveled in a straight line. Su Ming sat on it as if he had forgotten about the flow of time. When the meteor had flown for seven years, a damaged ship appeared before it.

There was a sail on the ship, and it looked as if it was treating the galaxy as a sea while sailing through it. There were dozens of thin cultivators in each corner of the ship. They were using their cultivation bases to keep the ship flying.

Most of these thin cultivators were in Earth Cultivation Realm, and only two of them were in Heaven Cultivation Realm. These two people sat cross-legged at the bow of the ship, as if they were controlling its direction.

Behind them… was a huge bed. There was an incredibly plump person lying on it. At that moment, the plump person was looking away with his eyes narrowed while a short, thin, and haggard looking female cultivator that was still rather beautiful stood by his side.

The damaged ship floating in the galaxy and the meteor Su Ming was sitting upon were directly opposite each other, and both were getting moving closer. This attracted the attention of the people on the ship, especially the two people in Heaven Cultivation Realm. They stood up cautiously and cast their gazes into the distance.

With just one glance, they saw Su Ming sitting cross-legged on the meteor. Dressed in white and with a head full of gray hair, he was an incredibly eye-catching sight to them.

Su Ming had his eyes closed and was meditating at that moment. The ripples of power he spread out made him seem to be just in Earth Cultivation Realm, and because of that, he gave off a strange feeling to those who saw him.

When the two cultivators in Heaven Cultivation Realm looked over, a sharp voice rang out from behind them. That voice naturally came from the huge, plump person on the giant bed. ”There’s something off about this person. Ignore him. We have to hurry. This time, our great paragon of the Western Ring Nebula has gotten himself a son during his ten thousand-year-old birthday. We can’t be late.”

The plump person narrowed his eyes and cast Su Ming a glance while he was still in the distance.

Soon, the meteor and the ship drew closer to each other, stirring waves of ripples that crashed into each other. They were about to pass one another, with Su Ming continuing to sit on the meteor with his eyes closed, ignoring everything around him.

Yet at the instant the meteor beneath him was about to pass the ship, two piercing rays of red light suddenly spread out from the chests of the two cultivators from Heaven Cultivation Realm on the ship.

At the same time, red light also spread out from the plump person’s clothes. The appearance of these three rays of light was incredibly abrupt, taking those people aback.

The plump person’s expression suddenly changed drastically. He immediately brought out the object that was shining with red light from his bosom. It was a pearl that was the size of a baby’s fist. That pearl was currently shining with a light that was akin to blood and would cause hearts to tremble in apprehension. The plump person then looked swiftly towards Su Ming, who was sitting on the meteor that had not left too far into the distance.

”The Blood Identification Pearl that the True Guards distributed to most of those in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence a hundred years ago… has lit up. Could it be… Could it be him?!” The plump person stood up swiftly, and an intense wave of excitement appeared in his eyes. ”He’s indeed in Heaven Cultivation Realm! Stop him! Do not let him escape!”