Pursuit of the Truth

During this season, even when it rained in Black Ink Planet, it was not cold. The raindrops that fell from the sky brought with them a hint of warmth, but when they landed on a person’s body, they would inevitably make their clothes wet and cause them to stick to the skin, which brought great discomfort.

The oil-paper umbrellas [1] in the rain looked like flowers. If anyone looked from the sky, they would not be able to see people, but feet under the umbrellas walking forward leisurely under the rain.

Su Ming had his hands placed behind his back. His long, gray hair danced in the air due to the wind blowing against it. By his side was the elegant Yu Rou. She held an umbrella in her hand and stuck close to him, as if she had truly become a maidservant.

Su Ming’s long hair spilled down his shoulders as he walked in the rain. Some of them grazed Yu Rou’s veil, as if they had fused with it to form a picture.

Behind them was the bald crane sitting on the big yellow dog. It let the rain fall on its body and had a contemptuous expression on its face, though no one knew just at whom that contempt was directed…

The big yellow dog continued regarding Yu Rou with hostility as it followed behind them in the rain.

Yu Chen Hai walked at the back.

The group walked out of Yu Family’s gate, and a vast world revealed itself before them. This place was rather remote, since it was where the Yu Family was located. If the group wanted to head to the auction hall, they would need to go to Black Water City.

The entire Black Ink Planet was divided into multiple regions by the families. Some of them had complicated connections with other regions, but in an overall sense, there were three largest cities within the planet - Black Water, Ink Kirin, and Worldly Star. These cities were occupied by the three largest families in Black Ink Planet.

Due to the fame of the three cities, the cultivators and members of alien races in Divine Essence Star Ocean gathered there, and the distribution of certain benefits, smaller families had set up their own auction halls near the cities that were closest to where they stayed, though they needed to pay a certain amount of money to do so.

That was why some small auctions would be held near the three cities. Only some larger scale auctions would be built in different locations, away from the cities and within families’ respective bases. The families would also only send out invitations in a wide scale for such auctions.

It was the case for Yu Family’s auction hall, which was built in a huge natural basin eight thousand lis away from Black Water City. Powerful warriors from the family would constantly be stationed there, keeping watch over the place. The hall was built in an incredibly extravagant manner, showing off the air of a middle-sized auction hall. The defense around it was tight, and it was built in a spot directly across Yu Family’s base. If anything happened during the auction, they would be able to settle it instantly.

There were several tens of thousands of lis from Yu Family’s base to Black Water City. It might seem far, but to cultivators, this distance was nothing.

In fact, if they did not want to fly, they would also be able to use Relocation Runes to send a person straight to Black Water City.

Su Ming did not choose to use a Relocation Rune. He liked this rain. To him, this rain was real, and it was something he could have never seen before he came to Black Ink Planet.

The group turned into long arcs and slowly left into the distance amid the rain pouring down from the sky to the earth.

They continued traveling until a gigantic city appeared in the distance. That city looked rather strange. It had no walls and was a swamp that covered a large area.

The swamp was black, and there were wisps of freezing air spreading out from it, causing the rain to turn instantly into ice. When it fell in the water, an endless ripples were stirred.

There were multiple stone bridges built across the swamp. There were several intersection points, and each of them connected to several stone bridges at once. Usually, there would be a platform that was several hundreds of thousands of feet wide built on these intersection points, while some of them were even larger. Multiple towers and halls could be found on these platforms, and shops were located on them as well.

In fact, gigantic platforms that were more than one million feet wide could be found over some intersection points, formed from a dozen something stone bridges. They had carved railings, jade steps, and other sorts of ornaments that were so numerous they could not be counted.

This was Black Water City. It might also be raining in this place, but the rain could not conceal the bustle of activity. The silhouettes of cultivators could be seen everywhere.

The size of the city was big enough to accommodate millions of cultivators. The great size of the swamp could also be seen based on the size of the city itself. This was no longer a swamp, but a landmass big enough to be known as an open sea.

Yu Chen Hai took a few brisk steps forward to speak in a low tone behind Su Ming. ”Mo, Tai Ci, and Hua are the three families in Black Ink Planet that are regarded as the leaders. They are the three strongest families, and only their families have the ability to build such a city.

”In fact, even the alien races from Divine Essence Star Ocean need to be courteous to the three families. Even the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds keeping a lookout over the Barren Lands of Divine Essence need to come forth and pay their respects to the three families when coming here.

”Rumor has it… It’s just a rumor, but it’s said that the three great families can negotiate with the four Great True Worlds. They can send their family members out of the Barren Lands of Divine Essence to train and gain experience in the four Great True Worlds.”

The group descended from the sky and appeared outside Black Water City.

”The city was built by the Tai Ci Family, and it has a long history. There’s a lot of legends surrounding the swamp. There’re all sorts of fantastic records about it, and no one can tell whether they are true or false.

”However, there is a legend here which someone from the Yu Family has witnessed before. In the depths of the swamp lives an ancient beast that is extremely terrifying. That beast has nine heads… and once every ten thousand years, it lets out a roar, and that roar contains two words – Nine-headed Dragon [2].”

Su Ming’s eyes focused, and he looked towards the swamp that belonged to Black Water City in the distance as he listened to Yu Chen Hai’s words.

”Let’s go. We’ll take a look at Lie Shan Family’s auction,” Su Ming said flatly and walked over first.

Yu Rou had remained quiet all the way to this place. At that moment, she went after Su Ming to hold an umbrella over his head, walking onto a stone bridge.

There were no people acting as guards in the city, and there were plenty of stone bridges that acted as entrances in all directions. Anyone could come and go as they pleased. This lack of defensive measures in the city could only mean that Tai Ci Family, who controlled this city, had everything in their jurisdiction.

The big yellow dog would occasionally lower its head to look at the swamp, and a strange glint would flash in its eyes. After giving the swamp a careful sniff, it immediately put a distance between itself and the water. The bald crane, on the other hand, was completely unbothered by the swamp. At that moment, it had its head lowered and was fiddling with its claws, calculating something unbeknown to others.

Su Ming had a very relaxed expression on his face as he walked on the stone bridge and looked at the unique city before his eyes. Yu Rou quietly kept him company by his side. As they stepped into the city, they gradually saw quite a number of cultivators.

Yu Rou might have been wearing a veil over her face, but she still caused the cultivators to sneak peeks at her.

However, she seemed to already be used to being stared at and did not show any signs of discomfort, continuing to be like a maidservant beside Su Ming, which brought the gazes of the cultivators on him.

However, once they cast him a look, these cultivators immediately averted their gazes.

Su Ming’s current appearance—which consisted of a maidservant, a big yellow dog, and a bald crane trailing behind him, as well as Yu Chen Hai by his side like a servant—made him look like a good-for-nothing young man from a wealthy family in everyone’s eyes.

In fact, they did not even need to think about it to be able to tell that Su Ming was a direct descendant of some family who had come to Black Water City with his family servants. Most of the time, no one would intentionally provoke this sort of person.

As a member of the Yu Family, Yu Chen Hai was incredibly familiar with Black Water City. As he gave directions in a respectful manner, Su Ming walked past the stone bridges. Soon, he saw an intersection point between six stone bridges.

There was a gigantic platform there that was about thirty thousand something feet wide. An oval-shaped building was built on that platform, and it looked like a ring that was erected on the ground. There was a stone platform floating vertically in the empty portion at the center of the ring. That platform was shining.

There were numerous illusory threads around the platform, and they were swaying about in the wind. The threads might have seemed to be scattered, but if anyone took a closer look, they would immediately find that they formed three big words.

Lie Shan Family.

”This is Lie Shan Family’s auction hall within Black Water City. The building might seem a little strange, but all of Lie Shan Family’s auction halls are built this way. They aren’t as beautiful as Yu Family’s auction halls,” Yu Chen Hai whispered softly.

Su Ming was silent. As he looked at the gigantic ring-shaped building, a complicated expression gradually appeared on his face. No one else might be able to see any form of aesthetic in the ring-shaped building, but at the instant Su Ming saw the building, ripples rose in his heart.

On the ring, Su Ming saw various hollows and bumps. There were also a large amount of horizontal and perpendicular lines on it. This… was not a building. It was clearly… a map of the land of Berserkers!

The hollowed parts were basins, the bumps were plateaus, and the horizontal as well as perpendicular lines marked the rise and fall of mountain ranges. The empty portion at the center of the ring… was the Dead Sea!

The stone platform at the empty space was once the core of the land of Berserkers, where Great Yu Dynasty was built. This was a complete map of the land of Berserkers, and this building was the epitome of Lie Shan Xiu’s fond remembrance of his home.

Perhaps he thought that other people would not be able to understand this form of yearning and remembrance, which was why he had fused these feelings into the buildings that belonged to the Lie Shan Family. He also probably did not expect… that there would be someone who would be able to see his thoughts from these buildings.

However, Su Ming could tell. He looked at the ring-shaped building with a dazed expression, then at the illusory threads around the area. They numbered a thousand, not a single more, and not a single less, just like the number of blood veins within a Berserker’s body. It was the initiation for the Berserkers’ cultivation method and their foundation.

The four words formed by the blood veins was not some sort of divine ability in Su Ming’s eyes, but the Berserkers’ Berserker Mark!

A Berserker Mark formed of one thousand blood veins!

”He misses home…” Su Ming mumbled. He could sense Lie Shan Xiu’s longing for his home from the ring-shaped building.

He looked at it quietly, all sound having vanished from his ears. The world before his eyes had blurred. The only thing that remained was the ring-shaped building.

’The land of Berserkers was torn to pieces during the second God of Berserkers’ era. During the first God of Berserkers’ era, it was whole. I originally thought that it was a massive piece of land, but by the looks of it now, this… is how the land of Berserkers looked like during the first God of Berserkers’ time.

’It might have changed a lot later on… but I can still see some traces of the land I’m familiar with … That part is… the ninth summit, and that part… is Dark Mountain…’ Su Ming sighed softly.

”Come, let’s go in,” he said softly, leading his group inside.

As the group headed in, several cultivators immediately walked out of the auction hall. The auction had already started. If they did not have a special token, they would not be able to enter the place halfway through.

However, as a member of the Yu Family, if Yu Chen Hai could bring Su Ming to this place, then he would naturally have a method to get in. Once he brought out a plate, the cultivators immediately made way. A hearty laugh came from inside the building.

”So it’s brother Chen Hai? Come in, quickly.”

Appearing with that laughter was an incredibly big and tall man, who seemed to be in his thirties. He had thick brows and big eyes, which made him look incredibly boorish. Compared to the slender figure shared by the average cultivator, he looked incredibly brawny.

Translator’s Notes:

1. Oil-paper umbrellas: Umbrellas made of paper, mainly used to provide shade and as bridal gifts. The color of the umbrellas have their own meanings. Purple is for longevity, and white is for funerals. You can read more about them here: http://www.umbrellahistory.net/umbrella-types/oil-paper-umbrellas/

2. Nine-headed Dragon: The dragon that was in Han Mountain Bell, which Su Ming obtained from Han Mountain City and whose only six heads did he manage to wake.