Pursuit of the Truth

The Fifth True World had disappeared many years ago. No one remembered any longer when it had happened, just that it was in an age long past.

Perhaps the amount of years Dust Burners had lived in Divine Essence Star Ocean could be used to calculate how many years the Fifth True World had been missing.

Then just how many years had it been since Progenitor Dao Chen from True Morning Dao World had isolated himself? In fact, how many years had it been since one man brought his pregnant wife to pass by True Morning Dao World and was chased by Morning Dao Sect?

The wife was injured gravely as she was about to give birth. With a smile, she died, and when the man held her in his arms, he had shouted a sentence in a shrill voice, “This world shall be built for Abyss.”

How many years had it been since then?!

Su Ming’s heart trembled. Various thoughts appeared in his mind, but were immediately sealed up by his power, preventing Xuan Shang, Yun You, Nian Yin, Hua Yu, and Yu Xuan from sensing anything.

‘The time isn’t right… They… should not have left the Fifth True World with the fifth kiln…’ Su Ming mumbled in his heart, but there was uncertainty in his guess.

Because even he did not know… for just how long he had lived.

“You are still a child. You wouldn’t know about Abyss Builders.” Progenitor’s words reached Su Ming’s ears, and he forced down the hint of complicated emotions and melancholy in his heart.

He had long since been able ascertain that the man who had wreaked havoc in True Morning Dao World was his father, and the pregnant woman who was about to give birth was his mother. He had seen her in the depths of his memories when he was in Western Ring Nebula’s foreign lands. At that time, she had held him in her arms and insisted on protecting him even if she had already died.

However, he did not want to think about it, did not want to ponder over it, did not want to let himself sink into a vortex in which he could lose himself.

In regards to parents and familial love, perhaps it had once existed when the man looked at the woman with a smile, and she lowered her head to look at her large stomach. The hands that caressed it belonged both a man and a woman. There was anticipation contained within that touch, along with parental love, happiness, and warmth which Su Ming had never experienced in his life.

Perhaps it should be said that before that warmth could even get close to him, it had already reached the end of its existence without making a single sound. In the end, it was just a scene akin to mountains and rivers falling to eternal silence and the passage of time reaching its end. It was just the lonely snow.

Su Ming was lonely, just like the celestial beings in heaven. Time seeped through the cracks between his fingertips. His memories sank into the depths of his mind as he continued changing. His heart sought for a way to escape reality, and his dreams were laden with grief in the dark.

This was Su Ming’s emotions towards his parents, and they were mixed with a hint of anguish that he did not want to dwell upon… along with a hint of resentment that suited his current identity!

What he resented was not his mother who held him after she died or his father who died after he went mad… but Morning Dao Sect who had brought about all of this!

That was why he Possessed Dao Kong. The simple destruction of Morning Dao Sect was not enough for him to vent his resentment and frustrations. He wanted to rain down chaos on the sect and become the sect’s master. At that moment, he would smile and lead the entire Morning Dao Sect through a windstorm of self-destruction.

In fact, if he had children, he would not even choose to destroy Morning Dao Sect. Instead, he would turn the entire Morning Dao Sect… into a pen of livestock for the descendants of the Su Family to Possess for generations to come.

“Abyss Builders were the strongest race in the Fifth True World…” Progenitor’s voice was slow, and Su Ming’s mind, which currently had a storm raging within it, slowly returned to reality.

“The fifth kiln was created by Abyss Builders, and Dust Burners were in truth… created by Abyss Builders as well.” There was a slightly complicated look on Progenitor’s face as he told Su Ming the story that he knew.

“The fifth kiln had two masters. The first one was Abyss Builders’ Progenitor, but he died during the disaster. The second master was his grandson, Su Xuan Yi [1]. He was the second strongest person among Abyss Builders, next only to Abyss Builders’ Progenitor.

“There was originally a third master. He was Su Xuan Yi’s son… but this child never appeared, which is why the fifth kiln doesn’t have a third master even up to this date.”

When Su Ming heard this, he could no longer hide the emotions on his face. His body shuddered, and his expression changed continuously. When Dust Burners’ Progenitor saw this, he did not speak of it, but continued his tale.

“During the disaster of the Fifth True World, Abyss Builders were exterminated. Only Su Xuan Yi managed to escape and bring his pregnant wife through an All Directions Seal which he opened with the fifth kiln. When he escaped from the Fifth True World, he appeared in the inner parts of Divine Essence Star Ocean.

“They lived there for a long time and opened the fifth kiln so that Dust Burners could venture out. We regarded him as our master and lived for generations in Divine Essence Star Ocean.

“He wanted to break the curse placed on the baby within his wife’s body. That curse… had been placed by a Sublime Paragon, and it would result in Abyss Builders’ bloodline going extinct.

“This curse killed the baby, but Su Xuan Yi used his power and desperately maintained a hint of life force within the baby. A long, long time later, they ventured out once… and never returned,” Dust Burners’ Progenitor finished softly, his voice echoing in space.

Su Ming was silent.

After a long while, he asked, “If they were such a powerful race, how did they disappear? And even the Fifth True World disappeared from the universe.”

“This is a story that happened a long time ago. I am not aware of the details. After all, at that time, I was just a ball of fire in the kiln and did not have my own consciousness.

“However…” Dust Burners’ Progenitor looked at Su Ming. “Once I gained my consciousness, I heard a few Progenitors of the past generations mention some of it. This matter… is related to Sublime Paragons… limits… numbers… and Ancient Wei.”

Su Ming’s pupils contracted. This was an incredibly great question at the bottom of his heart. Why was the Fifth True World destroyed by the four Great True Worlds working together? And Abyss Builders, why were they exterminated?

Originally, Su Ming believed that this was somehow related to Abyss Builders’ inborn ability. However, when he heard Progenitor’s words, he suddenly felt that his guesses were wrong.

Since this concerned Sublime Paragons, then there was definitely not just one or two of them. Instead, all of Sublime Paragons from the four Great True Worlds had caused this to happen.

Then just what reason could push these Sublime Paragons who had surpassed the Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death to the point that they would want to exterminate Abyss Builders to the last person?

Numbers, limitations, Ancient Wei—these three words echoed in Su Ming’s head, but he could not connect them together.

How great was the number and whose limit was it that made it necessary for them to destroy Abyss Builders? Why was it also connected to the already destroyed Ancient Wei?

“Alright, these are all the things regarding Dust Burners that you need to know. Now, I will take you to the fifth kiln. As for whether you can find the fifth stone in there will depend on whether you can encounter a serendipitous event.

“After the changes the fifth kiln went through in the past, plenty of things have transformed in it. The signs of manifestation of other Vessel Spirits have also appeared. There is a great amount of danger in there, but you are a Dust Burner. You have a natural advantage.

“But… once the kiln is activated, it’ll be impossible for you to be the only one who will step in, because a sea of fire that will sweep through the entire Divine Essence Star Ocean will appear. Due to that, some Almighties in Divine Essence Star Ocean and cultivators from the galaxy beyond will rush over.

“Are you certain that you want to go to the fifth kiln?” Dust Burners’ Progenitor looked over.

Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Dust Burners’ Progenitor cast Su Ming a profound look. When he raised his right hand and swung it in the air, the flames around Su Ming immediately fell back, and Su Ming’s body appeared in the air.

Immediately after, Dust Burners’ Progenitor swung his arm again. The weather instantly changed. Winds rose and clouds surged, as if time and space had changed. It could be said that clouds were charging forward like flowing water in the sky. This scene made it seem as if the heavens and the land were being changed.

Su Ming obviously felt that he was not moving. In fact, even Dust Burners’ Progenitor stood in his place without moving… but when everything about them stopped within a few breaths, Su Ming discovered that they… were no longer in Dust Burners’ continent.

They were surrounded by an empty galaxy. Not a single sound could be heard in the dead silence. The only thing present there was a gigantic picture of a flame in front of them. The flame was so big that when other people saw it, the image could reflect in their entire pupil.

There was no end to the flame. It made no sound, and there were no hot waves crashing into Su Ming’s face. In fact, he felt as if the gigantic flame was fake. It existed between a state of being real and fake.

Su Ming’s pupils shrank. He was first shocked by the shift Dust Burners’ Progenitor just executed. He had never seen that sort of shifting before. Clearly… this was a divine ability that only Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death possessed.

Dust Burners’ Progenitor cast Su Ming a look and said faintly, as if he could see the thoughts in Su Ming’s heart, “That was the Position Changing Art. If you reach Mastery Realm someday, you will be able to do it as well.

“This is where the fifth kiln that Dust Burners protect lays. It might seem close, but it is in truth very far away. Even if we fly for ten thousand years, we would not be able to get closer.

“There are two ways of going inside. One of them requires you to be the master of the fifth kiln, and the other… needs you to open it and make the outer flames spill out. By doing so, you will be able to enter the fifth kiln.

“You will need three days to activate the kiln. When the outer flames spread out through the entire Divine Essence Star Ocean, you will bring about a disaster. You will need half a month. Use that half a month to prepare yourself. When the color of the outer flames changes to purple, you can enter the kiln.

“Remember this. It will first be crimson, then it will turn blue, and then purple. In the end, it will turn black. When it turns black, all the living beings in the sea of fire will die.

“Wait here. I will go back and activate the kiln.” Dust Burners’ Progenitor cast Su Ming a look again. When he turned around, his body gradually faded away.

Su Ming looked at the fifth kiln in the distance. As his pupils shrank, he fell silent and did not speak, but there were hundreds of thoughts spinning in his head as he carefully analyzed Progenitor’s words and the several profound looks he cast at him.

Gradually, a brilliant light flashed in Su Ming’s eyes.

At that moment, in the core of the fog where Dust Burners’ continent was, Progenitor’s body walked out of thin air on the one hundred thousand feet tall tower in the land.

There was a person sitting cross-legged on the tall tower. This person was middle-aged, and he was Dust Burners’ tribe leader. Once he saw the child-looking Progenitor, he immediately stood up and bowed respectfully to him.

“Activate the kiln!” Dust Burners’ Progenitor said flatly.

The middle-aged man was momentarily stunned. When he looked over the boy before him, he hesitated for a moment.

“Dust Burners can never return to the kiln. This is the law set by our ancestors. If… you value him so highly, I can give him the position of tribe leader. For if he returns to the kiln, he will immediately return to become a fire spirit. This is…”

“Is he a Dust Burner?”

Dust Burners’ Progenitor was silent for a moment, then he sighed softly. The meaning behind his words was incredibly shocking, and it caused the middle-aged man’s expression to change swiftly.

Translator’s Note:

Su Ming and Su Xuan Yi: Both their family names are the same character, 苏. Yes, my mind is running wild with theories at this moment.