Pursuit of the Truth

This was Su Ming’s plan. He wanted to first fight against a Master of Fate and measure the level of his current combat abilities, search for his direction, and find his breakthrough as he fought against a powerful warrior.

Then, he would make his first request to the Sand Earthling. If the spirit could kill the Master of Fate, that would be good. If he could not, then Su Ming would ask the Sand Earthling to trap him and buy a month’s time.

In truth, Su Ming could have asked the Sand Earthling to attack and exterminate all Heaven Traversers for his first request, but after some thought, Su Ming did not choose to do so.

If the Sand Earthling had attacked, not only would it have been held back by Heaven Traversers’ Master of Fate when he appeared, what would await Su Ming would still be the same outcome as now.

More importantly, Su Ming wanted to exact revenge, not cause a simple massacre. He wanted all of Heaven Traversers to pay the price for chasing after Tian Xie Zi in the past and make them perish as they escaped.

Perhaps in the eyes of Heaven Traversers, Su Ming’s actions were an unpardonable evil, a heinous crime, a deed that would get him punished by the universe. He seemed brutal and merciless. After all, the people who went after Tian Xie Zi’s life in the past were the powerful warriors among the Heaven Traversers, not their common people.

However, Su Ming still did it. No matter whether they were powerful warriors of the race or just normal members, they were all Heaven Traversers. Su Ming did not have the distinction between good and evil. The only thing he held true was doing what he believed he should do. When such thoughts appeared in his head, he had to do them, even if those actions were beyond the understanding of those around him and filled with a malicious air as well as could be considered to be temperamental.

However, Su Ming still did them. This was his monomaniacal determination.

He was sagacious, but that sagacity was all set by himself. He also had principles, but similarly, he was the one who set those principles. The core of all of his sagacity and principles was… ‘Do not provoke me, do not provoke my friends, do not provoke my family, and do not provoke my Master and my fellow brothers.

‘The price those who violate these principles must pay… is the extermination of their entire race!’

Booming sounds echoed through the entire galaxy. They were a loud howl mixed with the furious roars of Heaven Traversers’ Progenitor. Endless sand surrounded him, and when Su Ming looked over, the Progenitor looked like a ball of madness who was enveloped by a gigantic Sand Earthling.

More sand kept appearing around the Progenitor. After a moment, that sand turned into a gigantic planet, and in its core was Heaven Traversers’ Progenitor.

Muffled booms came from the sand planet, but as it grew larger, the sounds were gradually drowned out. The Sand Spirit’s body also shrank, and in the end, what appeared before Su Ming was a gigantic planet with an ancient old man sitting on it.

The old man naturally took the form of the Sand Spirit. He sat there as if he was guarding the planet, suppressing Heaven Traversers’ Progenitor, who was trapped inside.

The old man who was the Sand Spirit lifted his head to look at Su Ming and said, “I am already declining. My power grows weaker day by day. I can only help you trap this person for a month…”

His tone was faint, as if his presence was slowly atrophying. An archaic presence mixed with a thick aura of death surrounded him.

“One month is enough.” Su Ming lowered his head to look at his body. He was heavily injured at that moment, but he had already accepted these injuries, because the benefits surpassed them in value.

He could sense that his soul was going through a metamorphosis and his Ecang clone had understood plenty of things after the battle. His clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole had also seemed to come into touch with a power that existed in the universe and which only those in Mastery Realm could feel.

His cultivation base clone had also obtained a form of enlightenment during that battle.

Yet the most important thing was that Su Ming was no longer afraid of those in the Mastery Realm. This was incredibly important to him, because in the depths of his heart, he could never forget how he had fled when he was within the territory of the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds keeping a lookout over the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. The Almighty in Mastery Realm had left behind an impression of his strength and how hard he was to fight deep within Su Ming’s heart.

This impression was like a seed. Sometime in the future, it would sprout, and when that time came, Su Ming’s level of cultivation would retrogress due to the shoots from the seed binding him.

Yet now, the influence ended due to this battle. It was wiped away from Su Ming’s heart!

Su Ming turned around and charged towards the distant galaxy. He did not move further into the Heaven Traversers’ territory, but headed to the galaxy beyond it, and he traveled so quickly that he was gone in the blink of an eye.

After a moment, as Su Ming charged through the galaxy, he raised his right arm and swung it in space. Immediately, the totem of the Duke of Crimson Flame on his arm vanished, and the person manifested in front of him. He bowed respectfully towards Su Ming.

“Over the course of the next few days, protect me. Act according to the plan I told you previously,” Su Ming said faintly. The Duke of Crimson Flame hesitated for a moment before lowering his head and voicing his obedience.

Then, Su Ming patted his storage bag with his right hand. Two arcs, one yellow and one black, flew out and turned into the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon in front of Su Ming. These two creatures had been locked up in his storage bag for quite some years as a punishment for their deeds in Black Ink Planet.

When they appeared, the bald crane immediately lifted its head and started letting out shrill screeches. As it did so, it looked like it was crying.

“Oh heavens, this bloody bastard locked me up for a full twelve years, seven months, and twenty-one days! It’s been twelve years, seven months, and twenty-one days since I last saw crystals! I may have sinned, gods in heaven, but don’t punish me this way! Next time, lock me up in a crystal… I swear! I swear I will cut all ties with Su Ming! I swear it!”

Once the bald crane finished screaming, it glared at Su Ming. Its expression as it gnashed its teeth exuded a deep hatred born after it had suffered greatly.

“Su Ming, this great, handsome, loaded Grandpa Crane will now part ways with you! We are now enemies! Heh heh, let me tell you, no one can lock me up for twelve years, seven months, and twenty-one days, no…” The bald crane was shouting furiously, but with just one flatly spoken sentence from Su Ming, its voice fell silent, as if its throat was seized.

“An entire race’s crystals.”

“What? What did you say?” The bald crane shuddered violently, and its eyes immediately went wide. Brilliant light shone in them as they focused on Su Ming.

The Abyss Dragon sighed by the side. As it shook its head, it felt that the bald crane would never be able to escape from Su Ming’s palm its whole life. As it thought about it, it thought that it was slightly smarter. At the very least, it did not really like crystals that much.

When it thought about this, the Abyss Dragon instinctively looked at its own belly. Within it were the sparkling treasures it had hidden away during the past few years.

“Didn’t you say that you want to cut all ties with me? Go, then,” Su Ming said flatly.

“Who said it? Damn it, which bastard said it? I am the best of friends with the great, handsome, and powerful Su Ming. Who wants to drive a wedge between us? Is it you?” The bald crane glared at the stunned and innocent Abyss Dragon standing next to it.

“Didn’t you say you want to part ways with me? You can leave now.” Su Ming cast the bald crane a sideways glance without any expression on his face.

“Damn it all! Just who was it?! If I knew just who this diabolical person was, I would definitely bite him to death! I would bite his bum! This is too abominable, too shameless! How can such a kind crane like me say such callous words?! Su Ming, we respect each other so much, we love each other so much… No, I mean, we…

“No, there is definitely something wrong in this.” Anxiety filled the bald crane’s face. As it gnashed its teeth, it whipped its head around and glared at the Duke of Crimson Flame, looking as if it wanted to pounce on him.

“You are the one, you old coot. You’re jealous of the beautiful relationship your master and I share, you…”

Su Ming frowned. The bald crane was getting increasingly out of hand with the words it said. He let out a cold harrumph.

The bald crane blinked and immediately grabbed its bald body, looking extremely regretful, but knowing it was too late for it to repent. It stared at Su Ming pitiably.

“O handsome master, o great master, o evil master, this bald crane has committed a wrongdoing. Every single thing that went wrong is my fault, but crystals are innocent. Speaking of, you were talking about an entire race’s crystals just now?” Excitement appeared on the bald crane’s face.

“Yes, and they are not any ordinary race. They are one of the four venerated races in Divine Essence Star Ocean, and those are the crystals they had accumulated among over the course of countless years,” Su Ming replied calmly.

When he said this, the bald crane became so excited that it almost fainted. It hastily went forth and hugged Su Ming’s leg while wailing.

“Master! This is a great deal! Don’t abandon me and go on your own! I, bald crane, can help you count your crystals! I swear I will not put even a half of one into my pocket! I can even search for those crystals for you! My nose is extremely sensitive, and I’m fast too! Think about it, with how quick I am, I can immediately run once I steal those crystals, and no one will be able to catch up.

“AND I also know how to transform. I can transform into crystals, and no one will be able to tell.”

“You really want to join?” Su Ming lowered his head and looked at the bald crane.

The bald crane bobbed its head up and down while staring at Su Ming with excitement.

“You’ll have to pay a certain price…” When Su Ming said these words, the bald crane was immediately stunned, and its claws around Su Ming’s leg loosened slightly.

“But I can give you a third of those crystals.” Once Su Ming said this, the bald crane immediately hugged his legs tightly and refused to let go.

“Two thirds!” it said through gritted teeth, already prepared for Su Ming’s haggling next.

“Deal, but you’ll have to listen to me completely.”

Su Ming nodded without any hesitation. The bald crane was momentarily stunned before its heart filled with slight surprise and bewilderment, but before it could say anything else, Su Ming raised his right hand and patted his storage bag. A buzzing echoed in the air, and the poison wasp with the God Ascension Nectar flew out, then stung the bald crane.

A slight bit of God Ascension Nectar instantly surged into the bald crane’s body. Su Ming swiftly raised his hands and tapped a few parts in the bald crane’s body. Immediately, a thick wave of God Ascension Nectar’s fragrance spread out from the bald crane’s body.

This fragrance instantly filled the entire area, and at that moment, endless piercing roars rang out in the originally calm galaxy.

At that moment, the thick fragrance of God Ascension Nectar coming from the bald crane had already turned it… into a thing that would cause all ferocious beasts in Divine Essence Star Ocean to go mad for it!

The Abyss Dragon was originally observing this by the side with the heart of an onlooker for something entertainment, but once it witnessed this, a shudder ran through its body, and it quickly moved backwards.

The Duke of Crimson Flame’s pupils shrank as well, and without any hesitation, he grabbed the Abyss Dragon and retreated.

The bald crane was momentarily stunned before it lowered its head and sniffed its body, then immediately let out a shrill cry as if it had gone mad.

“God Ascension Nectar! Damn it, this is… this is Divine Essence Star Ocean, there are countless ferocious beasts in here! I-I!” As it cried, it even forgot its usual act of referring to itself as ‘Grandpa Crane’.

“Lure one hundred thousand ferocious beasts, and I will give you seven-tenths of one-tenth of the crystals. Lure three hundred thousand ferocious beasts, and I will give you eight-tenths. Lure five hundred thousand, and I will give you nine-tenths. Lure one million… and I will give you all the crystals!” Su Ming stated flatly.

The bald crane shuddered, then gritted its teeth. It would do it!