Pursuit of the Truth

At the instant Su Ming came out, his face became pale, but without any hesitation, he took a step forward. However, right at the moment he did so, the six wills rushed at him with loud booming sounds. The one right at the end was the one in Solar Kalpa Realm, and the one right in front was the old man that was near the state of a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.

His foot landed. When Su Ming appeared once again, he was already at the center, near the exit of the galaxy where the forces of power from True Sacred Yin World were stationed to keep a lookout over Western Ring Nebula. Yet the moment he got there, the voice of the old man chasing after him reverberated in the air once again.

”Nan, Di, La, Mi, Dong! [1]” At the instant these five syllables were spoken, a gigantic hand appeared in the air in front of Su Ming. The hand was semi-transparent, and it exuded a supreme might that contained a special law as well as a rule that charged towards Su Ming to seize him.

At the same time, another hand appeared behind Su Ming, closing in on him.

As the booming sounds echoed above and below Su Ming, two vortices appeared out of nowhere. A strange enchanting light shone within them, and faint figures of people could be seen sitting in them while meditating. These vortices pushed down on him from above and below, as if they had sealed off all of his exits.

At the moment the hands and the two vortices manifested in the air, the final syllable from the old man rose into the air with a shocking bang, as if it could replace the sounds of heartbeats of the people who heard it, causing their hearts to slow down to a pace where they had nearly stopped beating.

When these things closed in on Su Ming, the overlapping shadows of the runic symbols in his right eye shone. In an instant, they spilled out from his eye and surrounded him. The one hundred thousand runic symbols gathered about to turn into a huge purple heart.

As that heart began pumping, it collided against the hands and crashed into the two vortices as well. Booming sounds shook the galaxy, stirring up an endless amount of ripples that spread out in all directions like waves.

Su Ming’s runic symbols disappeared, along with the purple heart and his body. All of them disappeared under the loud booms.

When he reappeared, he was already at the edge of the exit that belonged to the galaxy where True Sacred Yin World was stationed. Only ten thousand feet remained, and then he could leave.

Yet suddenly, the old man who was still chasing after him manifested in the space behind Su Ming. But he was not alone. During that instant, Su Ming sensed three wills that were almost on equal grounds with the old man coming from three different directions from the galaxy where True Sacred Yin World was stationed.

In fact, an even more ancient will from the depths of the galaxy gradually spread out as if whoever it belonged to had just woken up. It was a will that caused Su Ming’s pupils to shrink. Right at the moment the person woke up, he immediately suppressed the might of the galaxy and the mightiness of all four wills accumulated together by the four old men.

”To control…” These were the first two words uttered by that oldest will right after he woke up. His voice echoed in the entire galaxy where True Sacred Yin World was stationed, and all those who heard it felt their hearts tremble before instantly prostrated themselves on the ground.

”Greetings, True Saint!” As these cultivators prostrated themselves on the ground, voices filled with zealousness and respect rose and fell like waves within the galaxy where True Sacred Yin World was stationed.

In fact, even the six wills of the old men as well as the three other wills near the state of Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death who were rushing forth from other places wrapped their fists in their palms at that instant.

It was also the enunciation of these two words that caused Su Ming’s heart to tremble viciously, and for the first time… he coughed up a mouthful of purple blood in this place.

As he did so, Su Ming swiftly retreated. His face was pale, but his eyes were incredibly bright. This… was a true Master of Fate, Lives, and Death!

Even cultivators who were already close to becoming Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death would need to worship it.

”Fate…” The oldest and recently awakened will spoke his third word at that moment. The world instantly stopped moving, and a huge eye appeared in the space before Su Ming.

That eye was shut, but even it was closed, there was a feeling as if all space had disappeared, and the galaxy no longer existed.

While the voice still lingered in the air, the eye slowly opened. There was an endless ancient air within it. At the moment it looked at Su Ming, a bang shot up in his mind, and as he moved back, he coughed up blood once again.

In fact, during that instant, cracks appeared on his body, as if he was about to shatter. A powerful suppressive force that could not be described with words descended on Su Ming’s body, as if it wanted to tear him into pieces.

This was the strongest person Su Ming had ever met in his life.

The eye shone like the embodiment of that one word from the ancient will. At that moment, it was charging swiftly towards Su Ming, as if… it wanted to seal him within itself!

In fact, Su Ming could even see a cosmos and a galaxy contained within that eye. There were an endless amount of planets inside, along with various living beings. Clearly, if he was sealed in it, he would become one of the many living beings within it.

’This is a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death, this is the true Master of Fate, Lives, and Death!’ Su Ming’s heart rumbled, and more cracks appeared on his body. At the moment the shadow of death enveloped him, he let out a low shout, and as the light of Divine Essence shone brilliantly in his eyes, he lifted his arms and flung them sideways.

Boom!

A gigantic tree that towered into the sky manifested behind him. The end of the tree could not be seen, and it was all purple. At the instant it appeared, it started trembling viciously, and there were Divine Essence Runic Symbols shining viciously around it. Su Ming had all his power within his Ecang clone erupt forth and crashed straight into the incoming eye of Fate.

The galaxy shattered and space fell back. As the booming sounds echoed in the air, the eye touched Su Ming’s towering tree. The purple tree immediately trembled, and as it fought against it, it started showing signs of shattering. In the end, with a loud bang that shook the entire galaxy, the eye disappeared. Su Ming’s Ecang tree also disappeared. He tumbled backwards as he coughed up blood. With a few steps, he moved out of the region where True Sacred Yin World was stationed and stepped into Western Ring Nebula. Then, without any hesitation, he shifted and disappeared without a trace.

It was also during that instant that the ancient will said its fourth word.

”Lives…”

Su Ming, who was in Western Ring Nebula, was forced out of his shift. He coughed up his fourth mouthful of blood, and a dried up, shriveled palm appeared under him. That palm seemed to be moving so slowly that it did not seem to be moving at all, but as Su Ming moved forward, it started growing endlessly bigger, as if… it could grow as big as the galaxy.

A great sense of danger warned Su Ming that he absolutely could not allow the palm under him to surpass him, or he would definitely die.

Yet no matter how far he fled, the palm continued expanding. It was already so great that its end could not be seen. As the echo of that last word echoed in the air, ferociousness appeared on Su Ming’s face. He lifted his hands and seized the air of the galaxy around him. Immediately, Western Ring Nebula shook. If one were to describe the entire Western Ring Nebula as a piece of gauze, then as Su Ming seized the air, it was as if he had yanked up the entire cloth to fight against the fourth word.

With loud booms, the fragmented Western Ring Nebula became even more broken. Su Ming’s eyes were crimson. As he spread his arms wide open, he spared no pain in spreading his will outwards. This particular move was him revealing all one hundred thousand of his galaxies in Western Ring Nebula.

This was an act that meant he would be fighting against this galaxy with all he had. At the instant he spread his will outwards, Western Ring Nebula began trembling violently. An endless amount of planets shivered, and an innumerable amount of living beings prostrated themselves on the ground.

”Winter!” Su Ming let out a low shout and started retreating nonstop. With one step, he disappeared, and with another, he reappeared, charging towards Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land. A layer of ice instantly appeared under his feet, and in the blink of an eye, it spread out to cover the endless galaxy, freezing all parts his will touched.

”Autumn!” When Su Ming’s voice echoed in space once again, all the frozen parts of the galaxy melted. The will of autumn representing cold and heat as well as life and death spread out in all directions, forming his Life Matrix of winter and autumn to fight against the incoming palm.

He moved away once again, disappearing one moment and reappearing the next.

”Summer!” Su Ming said. This was the summer Life Matrix which he had yet to completely master. Right then, in this life and death crisis, Su Ming activated this part of his Life Matrix.

Death disappeared, and life appeared in abundance. There were raging flames burning the galaxy at that instant.

Booms rang out in the galaxy. When Su Ming disappeared once again and reappeared later, he had left the exit of the region where True Sacred Yin World was stationed far behind himself and returned… to the core of Western Ring Nebula, where Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land was located.

At the instant he returned to the place, the palm that had stretched out from the region where True Sacred Yin World was stationed had already moved from under Su Ming’s feet to cover the galaxy. If anyone stood in Su Ming’s place and looked down, they would not be able to see a black galaxy any longer, but a boundless palm that looked like a continent.

The palm lines on that palm were like ravines. If sweat ever went down it, then they would become huge rivers. The spots where the palm lines intersected were the plains.

The palm stretched out endlessly and looked as if it had an endless amount of living creatures on it. It was as if the palm itself was a world, and this scene was enough to make all those who saw it to feel shock.

”And Death!” At the instant the ancient voice said the final word, the endless palm under Su Ming’s body started curling its fingers into a fist. The galaxy where its fingers swept past would shatter, and with an indescribable speed, it quickly moved to form a fist.

’So this is the true meaning of those who control fate, lives, and death!’

Su Ming’s heart trembled. Blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth. He had already been injured badly, but an epiphany appeared in his mind. This epiphany was something that was impossible for him to gain unless he faced a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death himself. Later, this epiphany could even point him towards a path for him to become a Master of Fate as well, if there was enough time.

It was very difficult for people to gain value from this sort of serendipity, because all those who came face to face with this would die without exception, unless they had the same level of cultivation themselves.

This was a suppression based on levels of cultivation, a difference of strength that could not be changed even if a person had a supreme treasure on his or her person.

This sort of epiphany caused Su Ming’s footsteps to freeze at the moment he was just about to enter Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land. His face was pale, but his eyes were shining brightly. He looked at the incoming palm and at his own injuries. The other person’s divine abilities appeared in his mind.

None would be able to survive before a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death. In fact, if Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land did not exist, even if Su Ming had an Ecang clone, he would still die.

However, the existence of Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land could make Su Ming the first and perhaps the only person who could survive and receive an epiphany before a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.

This chance was like a sudden serendipity!

Translator’s Notes:

1. Nan, Di, La, Mi, Dong: No meaning, just a chant.