Pursuit of the Truth

The Barren Lands of Divine Essence were in the shape of a gourd.

The mouth of the gourd was where the main camp of the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds that were keeping a lookout over the barren lands were located. This place was filled with a stern atmosphere and was usually shrouded in a deathly silence. Even the True Guards from the four Great True Worlds were not allowed to take even a single step into this place unless they were summoned and it was during the shift changes between the old and new True Guards.

All those who went against this rule would be considered to have committed a great crime and would be banished to Sinful Barren Lands.

Within the area of the main camp was a gigantic vortex. That vortex was constantly rotating, but it never made a sound. From the distance, the brilliant lights from the vortex would make it seem like an ocean of stars. However, if anyone looked from a close up, then they would see that the things that formed this ocean of stars were planets.

It was a gigantic vortex formed by countless stars. All those who saw this would not be able to help but be shocked by it.

At that moment, there was a long arc charging towards the main arc from beyond the vortex. Once that long arc closed in, it turned into a young man with the mark of a peach blossom at the center of his brows. He had a respectful expression on his face once he stopped beyond the vortex and wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed. He remained in that position for a long time and did not straighten his back.

Compared to this gigantic vortex, his existence was like that of an ant. He was completely insignificant.

Time passed. Soon, several hours went by, but that young man still remained in that bowing position and did not move, nor did he say a word. He simply waited there quietly.

Suddenly, the vortex started rotating a little faster before the speed of its rotation increased exponentially. A cultivation planet left its trajectory in the vortex and rushed to the periphery. A presence that could destroy the world charged towards the young man.

Once that presence stopped before him, a cold and flat voice came languidly from that cultivator planet.

”Come.” That voice might have only said one word, but it contained a supreme majesty, as if no one in the world could resist it.

The young man with the mark of the peach blossom at the center of his brows straightened his back at that moment, then turned into a long arc to charge into the cultivation planet before him. After a moment, he stepped on that cultivation planet, and before him was a vast desert.

He could vaguely see a towering hall in the distance. It was brownish yellow in color and stood alone in the desert. There were whirlwinds roaring and moving around it, sweeping up the sand to form a windstorm.

Nearly a hundred figures could be seen standing in front of the hall in the desert.

These figures were all cultivators. They were men and women, elderly and young. They were lying with their faces against the sand of the desert, slowly crawling forward. These people were dressed in rags, many parts of their clothes tattered, but their expressions were filled with a strange fanatical zeal as they slowly crawled towards the hall.

The young man with the mark of the peach blossom at the center of his brows looked at the hall in the distance, then slowly crouched down until his body laid on the sand. Then, he began crawling forward, just like all the other people.

It was silent all around him. Besides the moaning of the wind, there was no other sound. All the people on the ground crawling forward were filled with a strange air. However, even if the cultivator crawling right before all the others looked as if he had already gotten close to the hall, he still continued onward, as if he could not see it.

It was as if the distance to the hall seemed different for each one of them

The young man with the mark of the peach blossom at the center of his brows continued crawling forward, and as he did so, his robes were torn, and they began showing signs of being burnt. His hair dried up, but there was a determined look in his eyes. After spending two hours, he finally crawled towards the hall he saw in his eyes while looking completely dishevelled.

Over there, he sucked in a deep breath. Once he stood up from the ground, he walked into the hall.

It was empty. There was only a table there with an oil lamp. The flame on the wick was swaying slightly. A countless number of faces with bizarre smiles could be seen swapping places with each other in the flame. None of the faces would show up again, as if over the countless years in this endless passage of time, none of them had ever been the same.

The crackling from the flames echoed in the hall. Besides the oil lamp on the table, there was also a bamboo book by its side. Half of it was laid open, and an ancient presence spread out from it as it lay under the light from the lamp.

”I, Dao Ren, ninth-tier True Guard of True Sacred Yin World greet Lord True General Huo Zhu.” The young man knelt down on the ground and placed a hand on the asbestos on the floor before he lowered his head and spoke respectfully.

”Speak.” An ancient and cold voice came from the flames on the wick of the oil lamp. At that moment, the faces on the oil lamp stopped changing, freezing on a woman’s face with the ghost of a smile on her lips.

”We first discovered this person in Crimson Flame Planet…” The young man did not dare lift his head. He had it bent down as he told everything that he knew about Mo Su without holding anything back.

”... This humble guard would like to search through the ancient scrolls of reincarnation and find this person’s origins, then formulate a plan that would lure him out so that he would show himself before us on his own.”

His voice echoed in the hall. When the young man finished speaking, his voice still echoed in the area and lingered around for a long time.

After some time, the woman’s face in the flame on the wick opened her mouth, and her ancient and cold voice tumbled out from her lips. ”This person is not in the cycles of reincarnation.”

The young man was momentarily stunned, then his expression immediately changed. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said in voice, ”This humble guard is certain that this person is still in Western Ring Nebula, and is also certain that he has already fused with the Divinity Incarceration Rune with some unknown method. He can borrow the power of the Rune, and he uses its power to warp himself and suppress others. This humble guard would like to request that you would lock down all the borders that would lead to the other galaxies in Western Ring Nebula… and shut down… the Divinity Incarceration Rune.”

”I will bestow upon you a wisp of the flame from the candle. You will burn your life to keep the flame burning. Fate will lead you to find this person. I will allow you to shut down the Divinity Incarceration Rune once, but the down time cannot exceed three months.” Once the ancient and cold voice finished speaking, the flames on the wick of the oil lamp swayed. At the same time, the young man with the mark of a peach blossom at the center of his brows started trembling violently.

Flames immediately burned his body, and these flames started moving over him like flowing water, eventually gathering in his hair, making it dance and look as if it was flames flickering in the air.

The mark of the peach blossom at the center of his brows also instantly vanished and turned into flames.

”Your body will be a candle, and your life will be its flames. You… may leave now.”

The young man’s body immediately began moving back against his will. He instantly turned into a ball of flames that swept out of the hall, out of the desert, and out of the planet. When he reappeared, he was already in the galaxy. Right before him was the rotating vortex. As for that cultivation planet, it was slowly moving backwards at that moment, until it disappeared into the vortex and became one of the many planets within it.

”He’s not in the cycles of reincarnation, and he is a variable that was sent here using a special method. Wait, why can I… sense this presence in the story?

”That accursed crane that should sink to the depths of the sea of misery for all eternity, that hateful crane that all people cannot help but want to kill millions of times until it is eternally damned. THAT… DAMNABLE… CRANE!” Once the young man was swept out of the hall, a low roar that was no longer ancient and cold but filled with hate and madness rang out.

As that roar echoed in the air, the oil lamp on the table in the hall let out a violent crackle. An endless amount of faces appeared instantly in the flames, and they swiftly spread out, filling the entire hall before going outwards. The flames filled the entire cultivation planet, beginning to burn it right away.

…..

”Achoo!”

The bald crane was on a meteor charging forward through Western Ring Nebula. The bird was lying lazily with sparkling eyes. There was crystal in its claws and a pleased look on its face when it sneezed three times in a row.

”Well, damn it all. Someone must be talking about me. Ah… as a crane and as a bird, I have to keep a low profile. I must keep a low profile. I can’t have anyone keeping me in their minds… Achoo!” Before the bald crane could finish mumbling, it sneezed again. This time, it got angry.

It stood up, and a fierce look appeared in its eyes as it looked around itself continuously.

”Damn you all, who’s talking bad about me?! I’ll make you pay!”

As the bald crane was enraged, the Duke of Crimson Flame instinctively cast it a glance before quickly lowering his head and no longer bothering with it. The more he believed that the crane was the legendary crane, the more he did not dare associate with it. He remembered the series of rumors regarding that creature, and all the people that were associated with it did not end up well.

The meteor sliced through the galaxy. As the Duke of Crimson Flame protected Su Ming and the bald crane raged, the fury of the flames on Su Ming’s body reached its peak. The flames burned every single inch of his flesh and blood. It did not matter whether it was his skin or the organs within his body, everything about him was being burned down.

His body had already withered up. He looked like a dried-up piece of wood.

Another half a month went by. Su Ming did not move. All his skin had become chapped. However, it looked as if there were no longer any flames on him. Seven days ago, the sea of fire on his body had all tumbled back and crawled into him.

The presence of death became even thicker on Su Ming’s body. One day, his chapped skin let out popping sounds. At this moment, the Duke of Crimson Flame looked towards him with a grave look. Even the bald crane’s gaze landed on Su Ming.

The chapped skin cracked once again, piece by piece. At the same time, Su Ming… slowly opened his eyes.

When he did so, faint golden light spread out from his pupils, making them look sharp and threatening. They were filled with an awe-inspiring air. When Su Ming opened his eyes, the popping sounds became even stronger. The chapped skin fell off piece by piece to eventually reveal a faintly golden skin. In fact, once all the chapped skin fell off, the faint golden light spreading out from Su Ming’s body enveloped his entire person, making him somewhat hazy

Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. The galaxy around him immediately started trembling, and a sea of fire appeared around the meteor. The sea of flames burned with a loud whistle and spread out with a loud bang. In the blink of an eye, it covered a circular area of fifty thousand feet.

The presence of World Plane Realm erupted within those fifty thousand feet. This time, Su Ming did not borrow the Rune’s power, but with his physical body alone he had executed the power of World Planes.

”World Planes…”

Su Ming stood up on the meteor. Loud banging sounds came from his body. As Su Ming clenched his fist, the sea of flames of fifty thousand feet instantly fell backwards. At the moment he clenched his fist, it was as if the sea of flames within those fifty thousand feet was absorbed and gathered onto his palm.

”This is my own power. My physical body has become that of a Paragon.”

Su Ming closed his eyes. After a long while, when he opened them again, his lips curled up into a smile. However, that smile was a little bitter and sad. If he’d had this sort of power when he’d been in the land of Berserkers… then everything would be different now.