Pursuit of the Truth

Once the picture scroll disappeared and the world around turned into emptiness, tall, towering stone monuments appeared before Su Ming. Those stone monuments were all of different heights. Some of them were about several hundreds of thousands of feet tall, while others were only twenty or thirty thousand feet tall. Their numbers looked endless when he cast his gaze upon them. There were more than a hundred thousand of them.

Most of their colors were dull. Some of them even had cracks on them. As waves of ancient presences spread out from them, dried up specks of blood could also be found, which had once seeped out of those cracks.

There was a name carved on each of the stone monuments, and because there were more than a hundred thousand of them, it meant that there were more than a hundred thousand names there.

”My Divine Essence can be obtained by all manner of living as long as they are fated to obtain it. However… the law of the jungle is a law that will never perish. That is why I have left behind a hundred thousand stone monuments. Each person who comes will bring death to another. This is what one has to understand if they wish to obtain my Divine Essence.

”Those whose stone monuments go past the hundred thousand feet are the candidates for my Divine Essence. They may leave temporarily, for a thousand years. After that time, they can come to this place again. Once they make their stone monument a million feet tall, they can obtain another a thousand years’ time, and this will continue every single time they push a stone monument.

”If they do not come every thousand years, then they will be destroyed. This is the second outcome for those who wish to obtain my Divine Essence.

”Those who can make their stone monument reach ten million feet at first try can obtain my Divine Essence immediately. All the other stone monuments will be completely crushed, and they will scatter away in the form of Empty Dust. This is the third outcome.”

As Sui Chen Zi’s voice echoed in Su Ming’s heart, he saw a stone monument that was eight hundred thousand something feet away from him. It was riddled with cracks, from which fresh blood could be heard continuously flowing down. In fact, Su Ming could even hear shrill screams of pain and roars filled with unwillingness to admit defeat faintly echoing in the air.

”No, I won’t accept this! I’m been trapped here for twenty-three thousand years, give me more time, and I’ll be able to make this stone reach a million feet! I won’t accept this!”

Those roars abruptly fell silent. The stone monument before Su Ming was washed in blood. When that voice disappeared, the name that once existed on the stone monument also disappeared without a trace. It was removed.

At the same time, a gentle light began to shine. When it surrounded the stone monument, it gradually became smaller. It shrank to only twenty thousand feet, then the light on it dissipated. The surface of the stone monument was smooth, like a mirror. When Su Ming looked over, his reflection was reflected on it.

”Leave your name. The inheritance begins now,” the old voice stated, resounding once again in Su Ming’s mind. Su Ming fell silent. He looked at the one hundred thousand stone monuments around him and understood that he had no room for retreat.

The so called three outcomes were not for people to choose whether they wanted to accept or reject the inheritance before they received it. Instead, right after they stepped into the foreign land and made their first choice, they were destined to tread on the path of inheritance.

Su Ming remained silent.

His heart was filled with apprehension due to Sui Chen Zi’s arrangement. He knew that the more irregular things were, the more terrifying they would be. This right of inheritance never gave anyone the chance to choose things on their own. Instead, they were constantly being chosen for them.

Perhaps there were would be only a few people that came here. Then it would mean nothing to these one hundred thousand people. After all, once the choice was made, only one person out of a hundred thousand would die, and the possibility of it falling on them would be very small.

However… this inheritance was open to all. Anyone could enter. In fact, during the eternal passage of time, there must have been many periods of time when numerous cultivators arrived here. If ten thousand people came, then it would no longer be one out of ten thousand who would die, but one out of ten!

If fifty thousand people arrived, then it would one out of every two who would die. Similarly, if one hundred thousand came to this place, then this would turn into a ruthless round of elimination. In an instant, the previous one hundred thousand would all be replaced.

Even if one had just obtained the right and did not have much time to receive the Divine Essence, death would arrive at their doorstep. This was unfair, but in this world, fairness never existed.

Luck was the key to survive in this place!

Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. Once he understood all of this, he knew that he had no way to avoid this. He stared at the stone monument before him, then lifted his right hand to swing it at that stone monument.

It was as if a gust of wind had swept past the land. When it landed on the stone monument, it dispersed, and a name emerged - Mo Su.

At the instant that name appeared, a rumbling sound came from within the stone monument. A picture was gradually drawn on it. After a moment, when that picture was completely revealed, Su Ming saw a village in a world with wind and snow intertwining with each other, and he saw himself standing before those mortals.

This was his initial choice, and it was shown on the stone monument at that moment.

Su Ming stared at it. After a long time, he averted his gaze. When he looked into the distance, he saw that there were a thousand stone monuments that had reached a million feet tall. This meant that there were a thousand people that were fortunate enough to not die after they were trapped for an unknown amount of years, succeeding in making their stone monument grow to one million feet, obtaining the one thousand year period of freedom.

There were five hundred monuments that were two million feet tall. These five hundred stone monuments were erected in different directions, and the names on them were shining with a faint light.

There were three hundred stone monuments that had reached three million feet, and two hundred that were four million feet tall. And as for those that had reached five million feet, Su Ming saw only a hundred of those among the one hundred thousand stone monuments around him.

There were twenty that had reached six million feet tall.

There were ten that had reached seven million feet tall.

Su Ming only saw one stone monument that was eight million feet tall. It was erected far in the distance, but it was the tallest one in the area and so the most eye-catching presence here. Su Ming looked at the stone monument, and he could vaguely see the name on it.

”Yun Shan Zi!”

”If you become a candidate for my Divine Essence, your life span will no longer be numbered. Under the power of my law, you will not perish… but if you cannot continue making the stone monument grow, besides being eternally trapped in here, if other people become candidates, your right will be cancelled.” The old voice echoed coldly in Su Ming’s heart.

”A merciless round of elimination,” Su Ming mumbled. It was clear. It someone managed to make his stone monument reach a million feet, then the one thousand first monument of one million feet would not appear. Instead, from among the previous one thousand stone monuments, one would be killed off so that the numbers would forever remain as one thousand.

Since there was no pattern, someone would be randomly killed off, making the possibility o being killed for all those within the range to be the same, even if one of them had reached 1,990,000 feet, while the other was just 1,000,010 feet.

One among a thousand would be chosen.

’During the endless passages of time, there must have been plenty of those who came to this place… There is no limitation regarding age here, which means that there is a possibility of there being an extremely ancient existences among the candidates.

’Once someone manages to obtain the Divine Essence, then all the others will die. The Duke of Crimson Flame once said that the ancestor of my people, the ancestor of Abyss Builders, once entered the foreign lands and walked out of the place.

’I might not know into which of the four foreign lands my ancestor had went, but since he managed to move out, then it means that he was a candidate in that foreign land but still died in the end. Was it because… a person who truly obtained the Divine Essence appeared in the foreign land he was part of?’ Su Ming’s heart trembled, but he quickly rejected that thought.

’The Duke of Crimson Flame said that if one doesn’t count Divine Essence Star Ocean, there are only four foreign lands. Now, there are still four of them. This means that no one has managed to obtain that Divine Essence.’ A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes, and a pensive expression appeared on his face.

’Could it be… that my ancestor… has not died?! Instead, due to the time limit of a thousand years, he was forced to return to the foreign land and is still trapped in there?’

Su Ming frowned. There were plenty of clues, but it was difficult for him to find the true reason. Yet no matter what, there might be thousands of connections between the fifth True World’s destruction and the foreign lands.

Su Ming sighed. There was only one path laid out before him, and that was to let his stone monument reach one million feet! He sucked in a deep breath, then took a step forward towards the stone monument that represented him. He looked at it and lifted his right hand. He had a faint feeling in his heart that if he just pressed his hand on the stone monument, he could join this sort of death match against the one hundred thousand people.

The moment Su Ming was about to press his hand on the stone monument, a boom suddenly echoed in the air. In the distance, a stone monument that was about three hundred thousand something feet tall shone with a brilliant light. Its height rapidly shot up and reached four hundred thousand feet. At the same time, a person bathed in light walked out from that stone monument.

That person was a big man. His body was incredibly tall and strong, and there was a thick presence of power of World Planes filling him. He had already reached the later stage of World Plane Realm!

At that moment, he walked out with an exhausted and apathetic look on his face. He saw Su Ming, but there was not a single hint of care within him. Instead, he looked towards the other stone monument that was about two hundred thousand feet tall beside him. Hints of gentleness appeared in his exhausted eyes, and it looked as if that stone monument’s existence was his only motivation to continue doing this.

Su Ming swept his gaze past the stone monument of the man and saw the name carved there.

Zhou Kang.

Su Ming also saw a Si Ma Yue carved on the stone monument that was two hundred thousand feet tall and at which the man was looking with a gentle gaze.

’Si Ma Yue. That should be a woman’s name. These people are either very good friends or lovers.’ Su Ming looked at the man now sitting under the stone monument that belonged to himself. He was completely unbothered by Su Ming watching him and simply ignored him. He closed his eyes and did not speak.

In silence, Su Ming did not immediately place his hand on the stone monument. He took a few steps backwards and sat down cross-legged. He did not have too many hints or much experience regarding obtaining the inheritance of this Divine Essence. If he could gleam something from the man, then he would have a little more confidence.

Time passed. Neither Su Ming nor the man spoke. About several hours later, Su Ming suddenly turned around and looked in another direction.

Right before his eyes, he saw a gigantic blood-red crack appear as the air distorted. A booming sound came from the crack, and soon after, a person walked out.

That person was an old man. When he walked out, there was a dazed look on his face. He looked at the area blankly, and there was disbelieving amazement as well as shock amid the confusion on his countenance.

Clearly, this person was the same as Su Ming—it was his first time coming here.

This scene immediately caught Su Ming’s attention. In fact, the man also opened his eyes instantly and stared at the old man. His breathing became slightly hurried. The selection of death was about to start. After a moment, someone from among the one hundred thousand people would definitely have the shadow of death fall on them, and both Su Ming and the man could be the unlucky one.