Pursuit of the Truth

The illusory projection that appeared before Su Ming was incredibly large. It clearly showed half the shape of the gourd. In fact, Su Ming only needed to cast his gaze on a single spot, and all the people and the objects in that place would immediately emerge in his head.

This sort of feeling was as if he was in control of this portion of the galaxy. Every life and every existence in the galaxy could not hide from him, appearing clearly before his eyes.

Even with Su Ming’s indifference, once he noticed this, his heart trembled, and he showed disbelief. He suddenly came to understand the source of the True Guards’ might. Besides their level of cultivation, the most critical factor to their strength was the ability to monitor the entire galaxy.

Anyone with this projection could basically be undefeatable.

He saw an endless number of white spots, countless stars, the four regions within Sinful Barren Lands, the four forces of power from the four Great True Worlds that were stationed in the galaxies directly corresponding to the four regions.

At the same time, he saw the Space Sealing Rune the bald crane spoke of just now. That Rune was like a long river that existed between the four regions of Sinful Barren Lands and the four forces of power from the True Worlds stationed on the other side.

He also saw Black Ink Planet. This planet that was at the edge of Sinful Barren Lands was marked as a purplish red spot, and it was incredibly far away from this place.

Once Su Ming swept his gaze past the illusory projection, he noticed several strange places. These places were as red as blood on the projection. When a person looked at it, they would be startled, unable to help but feel a strong sense of danger coming from them.

Besides, the Rune could only cover these spots, not see into them clearly. When Su Ming cast his gaze at those places, the sense of danger turned into a loud bang in his mind, and a vague, powerful suction force appeared, wanting to devour him.

There were four such places. They were like seas of blood that filled those spots, and one of them was located in each of the four galaxies of Sinful Barren Lands. The closest spot was not that far away from Su Ming.

”There’s a region like this in each of the four galaxies.” Su Ming forced down the powerful sense of danger in his heart. Once he averted his gaze, that sense of danger naturally disappeared.

”Those are the foreign lands,” the Duke of Crimson Flame said softly after looking at the four crimson regions.

Su Ming did not immediately reply. Instead, he closed his eyes and searched through the memories of the powerful World Paragons he had absorbed through the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole. After a moment, his eyes flew open, and his pupils shrank.

”The four foreign lands! All those who step will almost definitely die. Over the years, the number of people who entered them and returned alive is incredibly low. Even the True Guards from the four Great True Worlds avoid those four regions and regard them as places that end everything…

”Including Divine Essence Star Ocean, these places are regarded as the five forbidden regions in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.” This was the answer Su Ming obtained from the memories he absorbed.

”What are the foreign lands?” Su Ming looked towards the Duke of Crimson Flame.

”Before the four Great True Worlds fought against the fifth True World, this galaxy was known as Divine Essence. It did not belong to either the four Great True Worlds or the fifth True World. It was a boundary, a sort of mysterious region.

”There were plenty of rumors circulating this galaxy. During that time, several of these foreign lands were already in existence. Plenty of people went to investigate them, but very few came back.

”All those who came back were unwilling to talk about their experiences in those foreign lands. As time passed, the dangers and mysteries of those places turned into an enigma.

”This lasted till your Abyss Builder ancestor, who is the fifth True World’s Sovereign, went to investigate a foreign land and came back alive. He might not have talked much about it either, but from then on, the speed at which he increased his level of cultivation was so quick it was terrifying. When he eventually reached the Realm where he could control fate, lives, and deaths, he said one sentence: ’The foreign lands are the beginning of Divine Essence.’

”Very few know just what are those foreign lands. Even when the fifth True World was at war, the flames of war could not shake their existences. As time had continuously flowed to this day and age… it changed nothing, they still exist,” the Duke of Crimson Flame mumbled. He looked at the foreign lands, and his voice seemed to contain an ancient air. It sounded like an old gust of wind blowing forth from the passage of time.

Su Ming cast a deep look at the closest foreign land. After some time, he averted his gaze and looked at the other spots on the illusory projection.

He saw the main camp of the four Great True Worlds. Over there, the things he saw the most clearly were nineteen blue planets, which were scattered in different locations within the four Great True Worlds’ main camp.

There were numerous cultivation planets there and an innumerable amount of glowing spots that signified the True Worlds. There was also… a rotating vortex at the peripheral of the four Great True Worlds’ main camp. That was the exit from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. It led to the four Great True Worlds, to True Morning Dao World… to Yin Death Region!

”Master, eldest senior brother, second senior brother, Hu Zi, Berserkers… home.”

Su Ming looked at the vortex that signified the exit, and as he mumbled, sharp pain stabbed his heart once again. He might have lost his sense of pain, but that force that sealed off his senses only had control over his physical pain. It could not destroy the pain in his heart, which was not physical.

After a long while, Su Ming closed his eyes. When he reopened them, the aloof look had returned. When he swept his gaze past the area where the four Great True Worlds were stationed to a look over the barren lands, a familiar ripple entered his heart. He was stunned for a moment.

His gaze fell on one of the True Guards’ glowing spots, and a picture immediately emerged in his head.

Within that picture was a big man with an endless amount of black patterns on his exposed skin. He was dressed in a black robe and was sitting cross-legged on a cultivation planet that was filled with black earth. As he meditated, wisps of black smoke spread out from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Venom was contained within that black smoke, causing not only the earth around him to turn black, but also all the plants around to wither and die.

Su Ming looked at the picture that emerged in his head and gradually narrowed his eyes.

”Ji Yun Hai,” Su Ming mumbled after a moment. He recognized that person. That man was Ji Yun Hai, the clone he had refined in the past!

Madam Ji’s appearance in the past had caused Hong Luo to awaken in Su Ming’s body. He had brought Su Ming a series of troubles, and at the same time, given him an incredibly huge serendipity. Ji Yun Hai’s corpse had then also been refined by Su Ming into a clone.

The black beetles in his body allowed that clone to possess incredibly great combat abilities. It was a pity that he had lost his it when he went on his trip to the World of Nine Yin, and up to the moment he left, he hadn’t managed to find his missing clone.

Yet now, he saw Ji Yun Hai in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, and Su Ming could not help but be stunned by it.

’Ji Yun Hai is only a clone, the real person having died a long time ago in the past. He was killed by Madam Ji… but judging by his current appearance, it’s clear that this clone already possesses intelligence, yet why does he have such dense venom on his person?’ Su Ming looked at the picture in his head, and the sights from the World of Nine Yin flashed before his eyes.

Su Ming had found the Poison Corpse in the past. Once he brought it out of the World of Nine Yin, he gave it to the Fated Kin. It became the Fated Kin’s protector, and because of that, Su Ming had a burden lifted off his shoulders.

’Ji Yun Hai… I couldn’t find him in the World of Nine Yin in the past. I thought someone took his away and brought him out of the World of Nine Yin beforehand, but even after I became the God of Berserkers and had my Atman sweep through the land of Berserkers, I didn’t manage to sense his presence.

’If that is the case, then he wasn’t taken away by someone else in the past, but was in the World of Nine Yin, and he left with the ancient bronze sword… to head to True Sacred Yin World!’ Su Ming’s eyes sparkled brilliantly as he analyzed the situation.

’He’s become much stronger. He actually reached the level of a Lord of World Plane, or else he wouldn’t have been able to become a True Guard… Interesting.’ Su Ming swept his gaze past the projection and instantly found his pupils constricting once again.

He could clearly see two other glowing spots on the cultivation planet where Ji Yun Hai was.

”Ze Long Shen… Li Huo, they’re still alive?” Su Ming stood up swiftly, and a myriad of emotions flashed past his face. After some time, he started looking through each of the galaxies where the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds were stationed, and he did so in a large scale.

Several hours later, Su Ming’s gaze focused on a glowing spot, and his expression was a little complicated.

”Ye Wang…”

Su Ming closed his eyes. When he opened them a moment later, he averted his gaze away from the galaxy where the four Great True Worlds were stationed. Once he found the spot where he was located, he looked at the area around him.

Through that illusory projection, Su Ming saw several dozens of glowing spots flying about blindly around him. It was as if they could find his general location and were now just looking for the specific spot.

Besides these people were nine ancient bronze swords that were located in the distance. They were charging forward, but in a manner as if they had lost the location of where Su Ming was.

’They can’t use the Rune to locate me from a long distance, so it’ll be difficult for them to use the Blood Identification Pearl to notify the others of my position. Because of that, the Duke of Crimson Flame’s Art that distorts time and space for seven days will become effective once more, making it so the others will be unable to find precisely where I am.

’Now, I will use the power of the Rune to know where you are. Since you came after my life, then you will have to pay a price for it.’

Murderous aura spread out from Su Ming’s body. When he lifted his right hand, the crimson coffin under his feet melted into a long spear. Once he held it in his hand, the bald crane let out a cry, and ripples immediately spread out from Su Ming’s body. A small crimson Rune appeared under his feet, and in a flash, Su Ming disappeared.

Several dozens of long arcs were exploring the area all around Western Ring Nebula. These people were all stimulated by the four Great True Worlds’ rewards and were desperate cultivators that came to kill Su Ming so that they could obtain the rewards.

They cared nothing for death. After all, they no longer had any hope within the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. The only desire they had was to make themselves stronger and increase their level of cultivation.

That was why it could be said that they eyed these rewards like hungry wolves.

However, while the Blood Identification Pearls on their bodies shone, they were leading them to an incredibly far off place Yet not too long ago, the Blood Identification Pearls had led them to this region.

’What’s going on? Could it be that this Mo Su used that Enchanted Treasure of his and shifted into the distance?’ There was an old man dressed in a blue robe in the galaxy, and he had a dark expression on his face. At that moment, as he moved forward in the form of a long arc, his heart was filled with puzzlement.

Just as he was flying forward, his heart suddenly lurched in his chest. When he whipped his head around, he immediately saw a crimson Rune appearing in the galaxy not far behind him. There was an indistinct figure in the Rune, as if it was covered by ripples on the surface of water. Once it walked out, those ripples vanished to reveal a gray-haired Su Ming.

The old man was momentarily stunned. but then his pupils constricted. Killing intent rose in his eyes, along with surprise and bewilderment. He released the presence of World Plane Realm from his entire body without any hesitation.

Bang!

A blue sea of fog spread out towards the region around him, covering a circular area of several hundreds of thousands of feet.

Yet at the instant the sea of fog spread out, Su Ming lifted his right hand and pointed at the old man.

”Power of the Rune, suppress this person,” he ordered coldly.