Pursuit of the Truth

The Progenitor was also betting that he could live through this chaos. Besides, there was nothing left for him to lose. Even if he misjudged the situation and no one would follow him into the next dimension he stepped into, causing him to die in Su Ming’s hands, then once he disappeared, everyone would know that Su Ming obtained his Nascent Divinity, and because of that, he would truly be able to shift the disaster in another direction.

This situation made it seem as if no matter what Flame Fiends’ Progenitor did, Su Ming would still find it hard to not be chased down.

If Su Ming could seal him so quickly that Zhu You Cai could not save him in time and cause others to be unable to take action, then he could be considered to have destroyed this trap. But the prerequisite was that he gave the Nascent Divinity of Flame Fiends’ Progenitor to someone else.

However, Su Ming… did not choose to destroy the trap this way, even if he was confident he could do so if he had Progenitor Long Hai bring forth all his power and Su Ming fused it with his Ecang clone.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Very well,” he said. Once he said these words, he instantly drew all the people’s attention. Under the old monsters’ gazes, Su Ming sat calmly, without a single change in his expression.

His words made even Flame Fiends’ Progenitor narrow his eyes. The madness in them disappeared, replaced by a hint of uncertainty, but it was soon hidden when he bowed.

“Thank you, fellow Daoist.” Flame Fiends’ Progenitor forced down the resentment in his heart and was compelled to say these words.

Zhu You Cai frowned and scrutinized the Flame Fiend, then looked at Su Ming before looking away, occupied with his thoughts. As for the others, no one knew what they thought about, but based on their expressions, nothing much seemed to have changed. Only the white-robed teenager who was the centipede cast Flame Fiends’ Progenitor a sinister look, then frowned and swept his gaze past Su Ming.

“Words are all empty promises. If you attack me while I am not on guard… It’s difficult for me to make my decision, it’ll be best if you swear an oath.” Su Ming turned his head around and looked towards Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. There was a ghost of a smile on his face, along with a calmness within his eyes that no one else could understand. Only Flame Fiends’ Progenitor did.

The Flame Fiend hesitated for a moment, then looked at Su Ming, and their gazes met.

“I, Huo Kui, swear by my Nascent Divinity, and the universe bears as my witness. If you are truly willing to ensure my safety, then in the fifth kiln, I will definitely not attack you.” Similarly, only Su Ming could understand his words.

This was him telling Su Ming that he only wanted to survive, and if Su Ming truly wanted to help him, then he would put all their previous enmity in the fifth kiln completely behind him.

As Flame Fiends’ Progenitor swore his oath, an indistinct connection formed in Su Ming’s heart, signaling that the oath had taken effect.

Su Ming nodded calmly. There were no other words exchanged between them. When he began meditating, not a single hint of what he felt could be seen on his face. Even though he knew giving his promise to Flame Fiends’ Progenitor was a trap, Su Ming still stepped into it, because he had his own judgments.

If Flame Fiends’ Progenitor had not chosen to provoke the white-robed teenager, he would not have bothered, but he had chosen the person Su Ming wanted to kill the most, and because of it, he could be considered to have fulfilled Su Ming’s intentions.

“Alright, everyone’s here now. Then let’s move to the subsequent dimensions. The dimensions in this level will be much more dangerous than before. I hope that all of us will appear on the Spirit Trudging Platforms on the second border and not be buried eternally in this place,” the yellow-browed man said coldly.

When he spoke, he lifted his right hand and pushed down swiftly on the Spirit Trudging Platform beneath him. Immediately, light shone, and a vortex appeared under his feet. It looked like a Relocation Rune.

The others followed his actions, and as the vortexes appeared, light blossomed under Su Ming’s feet.

Once booming sounds came from the Runes on all platforms, large, tumbling waves immediately rose in the space in the distance. They were the Fire Spirits rushing over when they heard the noise.

Zi Long cast a profound look at Su Ming before he disappeared into the Rune beneath him. Then, the yellow-browed man looked as if he hesitated for a moment before he disappeared without a trace as well.

As for Zhu You Cai, he remained silent for several breaths. When he saw that the space around him was tumbling about even more and shrill roars were coming closer, he cast a glance at Flame Fiends’ Progenitor before he moved and disappeared into the Rune beneath him. At that moment, only Su Ming, Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, and the white-robed teenager remained on their platforms and did not move.

Su Ming’s expression remained the same while he looked to his right.

The white-robed teenager stared back. After some time, when he saw that the shadows of the Fire Spirits had already appeared in the space around them, he let out a cold harrumph and disappeared without a trace. Once he was gone, Su Ming also stepped into the Rune beneath him. Flame Fiends’ Progenitor’s eyes flashed, and while he hesitated, he gritted his teeth and stepped into the Rune as well.

At the instant the two of them disappeared, the light on platform in which the white-robed teenager had stayed suddenly flowed in reverse, and the youth appeared again.

‘My skills with Runes are above those of other people, but how could you peasants know about it?’ The white-robed teenager took a step forward and charged towards the platform Su Ming had disappeared into, and when he landed, he entered the Rune there.

Once the people disappeared, a large swarm of Fire Spirits reached the platforms. In the blink of an eye, the filled the space. Shrill screams rose into the air and traveled faintly into the Rune before dissipating.

Su Ming appeared in a land filled with flames. The sky was burning, the earth was roaring, and when he looked over, volcanoes were erupting madly on the ground. Black smoke went up to the sky in billows, as if it could cover the sky, but it could not cover the sea of fire above, burning everything in all directions continuously.

There were rivers on the ground, but the water within them was red. It was not blood, but lava.

Not a single hint of green could be seen on the ground. This was a world of fire.

Once Su Ming appeared, Flame Fiends’ Progenitor also manifested behind him. Almost at the instant he appeared, he moved back and maintained a set amount of distance between himself and Su Ming. There was no one else in this place, and he no longer hid the resentment in his eyes while he glared over.

“If you kill me, then everyone will know that you have my Nascent Divinity in your control, and it’ll be difficult for you to escape from everyone!” Flame Fiends’ Progenitor said in a dark voice.

“Why would I want to kill you?” Su Ming asked flatly and looked at the wary Flame Fiends’ Progenitor.

“How would I know why you ambushed me and forced me to explore my physical body explode?! It’s because of you that I’m stuck in this predicament!” The resentment in Flame Fiends’ Progenitor swiftly erupted on his face. His hatred towards Su Ming had already reached a heinous extent.

“I attacked you because you harbored the intent to kill me. If you didn’t direct your enmity towards me, then I would have naturally not attacked you. Destroying your physical body was just a warning. I’m warning you again now: Don’t provoke me,” Su Ming said calmly. As he spoke, a domineering presence spread out from his body. That presence spread in all directions, stirring up the sea of fire to tumble about even more furiously than before.

Flame Fiends’ Progenitor stayed silent and did not speak.

“Since I already warned you and you chose me to protect you, then I will naturally not kill you, but do you want another physical body?” Su Ming asked faintly.

“The choice of a physical body for us Flame Fiends is extremely important. Unless it’s a physical body in Mastery Realm, then the effect will be less than us with just our Nascent Divinities.

“That physical body of mine you destroyed was one I obtained after much effort in the past. Now, I have several physical bodies among my people acting as backups, but they are all just in Solar Kalpa Realm. They aren’t in Mastery Realm,” he began explaining in detail when he seemed to have vaguely come to understand Su Ming’s thoughts. A glint shone in his eyes.

“And I am on rather friendly terms with Zhu You Cai…” Flame Fiends’ Progenitor said again.

The meaning behind his words might have seemed indistinct, but in truth, it was already very clear.

“You will soon have a new physical body,” Su Ming stated slowly. In truth, Progenitor Long Hai also needed a physical body, but Su Ming did not fancy giving him the white-robed teenager’s physical body.

“Huang Mei and Zi Long are equal in terms of their levels of cultivation, and since they are both wary of each other, they are held back by each other. Neither of them will attack so easily, but the youth also has extraordinary power. He is also a manifestation of the Heavenly Centipede. I heard that he has the blood of Ancient Wu, which hails from the world beyond the four Great True Worlds… Once he activates his blood, he can activate the channel guiding Ancient Wu to him and turn into the Ancient Power.”

Once Flame Fiends’ Progenitor finished saying these words, a powerful, resentful aura instantly rose up with a bang in the originally empty spot beside Su Ming. That resentful aura swept through the entire area and caused the flames in the place to spread outwards.

As the resentful aura gathered together, the Resentful Wei manifested. The eyes of the two dragon heads shone with an eerie light as they stared at Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, who instinctively took a few steps back.

“If you’re added into the mix, will it be enough?” Su Ming asked flatly.

“He is so fast that he can break the universe,” Flame Fiends’ Progenitor said immediately. His eyes had already brightened up.

“Then let’s put up an act so he won’t want to run away.” As he said these words languidly, killing intent shone in Su Ming’s eyes, and he charged towards Flame Fiends’ Progenitor.

The Resentful Wei moved, and the black, resentful fire under its hooves tumbled outwards in all directions, instantly filling the entire area around Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. Su Ming had already closed in during that time. When he lifted his right hand, he seized the air in the direction of Flame Fiends’ Progenitor.

With it, a myriad of thoughts appeared in the head of the Flame Fiend. He instinctively moved back, then opened his mouth to let out a shrill screech. As he did so, the power of his Nascent Divinity shone, and an arm bone flew out of his body. It was illusory, but it crashed swiftly against Su Ming’s incoming palm.

Booming sounds rose into the air, and Su Ming took a few steps back. Flame Fiends’ Progenitor also shuddered and staggered a few steps back, but he let out a big sigh of relief in his heart. Su Ming might have looked as if he had used his full strength in that strike just then, but in truth, since Flame Fiends’ Progenitor had a marginal understanding of Su Ming’s true power, he knew that he had not used his full strength.

Flame Fiends’ Progenitor took a step forward, and when he attacked again, he sent a divine thought to Su Ming. “How long are we putting up this act?”

“Until he takes action.”

“What if he doesn’t attack?”

“Then we’ll act until no one can tell whether this is true or fake.” At the instant Su Ming sent this thought outwards, he lifted his right hand. The weather changed, the sea of fire tumbled about, and a gigantic palm manifested in front of him. It charged towards Flame Fiends’ Progenitor with a bang.