Pursuit of the Truth

The jade slip was what Dust Burners’ Progenitor had given to Su Ming in the past. Marked on it were certain regions of the Fifth True World. Su Ming memorized the contents, and as he moved forward, he saw a white river several days later.

‘The Fifth Abyss River…’

Su Ming’s footsteps came to a halt and he looked at the Abyss River that seemed to cut apart the galaxy. He also saw two… gigantic voids at the two distant ends of the river.

He had no idea where those two gigantic voids went. They existed in the galaxy, and the white Abyss River flowed between them, making those two voids look like two eyes with empty gazes.

When Su Ming read the jade slip with the Fifth True World’s map he’d gotten from Dust Burners’ Progenitor, he saw the Fifth Abyss River carved on it. It was just a simple carving, but its head was white.

That was because white symbolized the abyss. It did not mean death, but was the manifestation of an idea. Right then, Su Ming saw the Fifth Abyss River.

He realized that the river was the exact same as what he had imagined in his head. The two voids that looked like eyes and connected the two ends also fit with Su Ming’s imagination.

“On one end is a planet called Burning Dust…” Su Ming mumbled. It was on the carved map within the jade slip. When he raised his head, he headed for the Fifth Abyss River.

The closer he went, the thicker the aura of death became. Su Ming saw corpses drifting about in the Fifth Abyss River, and when he left, he suddenly stopped before turning his head around to look back.

He had a vague feeling that something was off, but he was momentarily unable to figure out just what gave him that feeling. In silence, Su Ming said softly, “Baldy…”

He was calling out to the bald crane in his storage bag, but he obtained no answer. When he frowned, he fused his Atman into his storage bag and saw… that the bald crane was not in there.

A glint shone in Su Ming’s eyes, and the feeling that something was off became stronger.

After remaining silent for a moment, he chose to leave.

When he left, the numerous corpses in the Fifth Abyss River continued drifting about. However… all them looked as if they were lying face down in the river. One could only see their backs, but not their faces.

Su Ming walked through the galaxy. He had no idea how much time had passed. He seemed to have forgotten about the passage of time while he traveled through the Fifth True World. He just continued walking until he saw a planet in the distant galaxy.

It was a burning planet. Thick waves of fire spread from it, enveloping it in a sea of fire.

That planet was the origin of Fire Spirits which Dust Burners’ Progenitor had spoken about.

Su Ming stared at the planet, and the feeling that something was off became stronger in his heart, but he still could not find what in particular gave him that feeling. His heart was on guard, but even so… he still could not discover any form of threat.

From the moment he stepped into that place to the moment he saw the planet, he was the only person in the galaxy. He did not see another living being.

Su Ming was silent. With hesitation, he walked towards Burning Dust Planet. He walked past the sea of fire, and when he stepped on the planet, he spread out his Atman, but he still did not find any signs of life.

The ground was a desert, a plain of sand burning in a sea of fire. The sky was crimson red and filled with flames. There were no… rivers or trees in the planet. The only thing there was sand.

Su Ming grabbed a burning lump of earth and put it into his storage bag. He cast a scrutinizing glance at Burning Dust Planet again before turning around quietly and leaving.

He walked absentmindedly within the Fifth True World, which was completely devoid of life. He was the only person in the whole world and the entire universe. The silence around him gradually turned suffocating, which gave Su Ming a feeling as if there was a depression in him that he could not vent out.

However, he also felt that everything was as it should be. The Fifth True World was supposed to be an existence void of life. It was a dead universe. The destruction here, the wastelands, and everything else were the exact same as he had imagined. There was nothing different…

Time passed year by year, with Su Ming continuing to charge forward through the galaxy. He only had one goal—a planet marked on the map that was located far in the distance.

A planet called Abyss Vessel.

It was Abyss Builders’ homeland and also his race’s holy land. In the past, Abyss Builders’ Progenitor lived over there.

Time passed quietly, without notice. Then one day, when Su Ming felt that he should be near the planet, he saw an aquamarine blue cultivation planet ahead of himself.

That color was incredibly unique in the galaxy, making it hard to forget after seeing it once.

‘Abyss Vessel Planet…’

When Su Ming saw the blue planet, his body trembled. In silence, he walked closer to it. When he came onto the planet, stepped into its atmosphere, he saw that it was a wasteland.

Only the azure blue shade of the seawater moved about as waves formed on the water’s surface. It was all silent, and even the sound of the waves seemed to be completely cut off.

There was wreckage all over the ground. Shattered rocks were everywhere, and Su Ming could vaguely see an image of numerous cities, but all of them had been reduced to ruins.

There were no mountains that were too tall. All of them were broken, as if they were the proofs that a war that shook the entire Fifth True World had happened there in the past.

While in midair, Su Ming stared at the ground and the wreckage on it. He walked down in silence, then went past the ruins of numerous cities until he reached the center of the planet. He saw an island in an ocean there, and on it was a gigantic palace, most of whose structure had collapsed.

Once, there had been plenty of statues standing tall at the square in front of it, but there were only three of them left.

Two were headless. Clearly, they had been shattered during the war in the past. Only one statue was still complete, and it portrayed a woman.

Su Ming stared at it, for it was his mother, the woman who was currently lying in the coffin within the fifth kiln and absorbing life force to preserve her life. It was her statue.

Based on the statues’ positions, one of the headless two stood at the center. It should have belonged to the most important person. He might not have a head anymore, but Su Ming could tell that it should have been of Abyss Builders’ Progenitor.

By his side was Su Ming’s mother, so on his other side…

With a complicated gaze, Su Ming looked at the other headless statue, and his appearance was just as indistinct and vague as in his imagination…

Su Ming remained silent for a long time before turning around and walking through practically the entire Abyss Builders’ planet. Several days later, when he returned back, he sat down cross-legged in front of his mother’s statue. He just sat there quietly and stared at the statue before he looking at his surroundings and sinking into a pensive silence.

Time slowly passed by him. One year, two years… five years… ten years…

Su Ming still sat there without moving. However, as time passed, a brilliant dark light gathered in his eyes, and he gradually closed them.

In the core of Divine Essence Star Ocean was the fifth ocean, and the deepest part of it was a place the world outside could not see. The sea of fog there tumbled about, surrounding a gigantic altar.

On the altar there was a huge mirror made of aquamarine blue. It was crystal clear and exuded a powerful, mighty pressure. It spread out as if it was suppressing the entire fifth ocean and forced the sea of fog tumbling about to quiet down when it reached a certain point.

At that moment, the four people with the Masks of Happiness, Anger, Grief, and Resentment were sitting cross-legged around the huge mirror. They did not close their eyes but were staring at the crystal-like surface before them.

After a long while, the person with the Mask of Grief lowered his head and sighed softly. There was no longer cold detachment within his eyes, but a complicated look.

As he sighed, the person with the Mask of Anger turned his head towards him before asking in a low voice, “Can take it anymore?” There was a magnificence to that voice, along with a domineering air that made him seem as if he was looking down at the universe.

“I am indeed unable to bear with it any longer, but you are the same.” When the person with the Mask of Grief said those words flatly, he cast a glance at the person with the Mask of Anger.

That person lowered his head in silence. After a long while, he let out a long sigh and mumbled under his breath, “Perhaps I made a mistake in the past.”

“From the moment we gave up on our identities from the Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos and became the guardians of Dark Dawn Ocean, we drew a line between ourselves and our pasts. We cut off all ties with all the emotions we had in the past.

“This is just the first test by Dark Dawn Ocean. If he can’t even see through the test in this place, then he is not a person needed by the 180 Expanse Cosmoses in Dark Dawn,” a low voice said, coming from the person with the Mask of Happiness.

“You once mentioned that besides the four great legacies of happiness, anger, grief, and resentment, there is in truth still another legacy. There should be five guardians in Dark Dawn Ocean. Who is the fifth person?” a hoarse voice asked faintly and abruptly, coming from the person next to the Mask of Anger who had not yet spoken before.

“Happiness, Anger, Grief, Resentment, and Cessation. The fifth legacy has absolutely no emotions within it. It is the Mask of Cessation that disperses all seven emotions and six desires,” the person with the Mask of Happiness said flatly.

“I have a question. The three of us have had many scions, but you once said that there is only one generation for the legacy of happiness. I’m very curious. Just… who were you when you were in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos?” the person with the Mask of Grief immediately asked.

“When it will be time for the three of you to know, you will naturally know,” the person with the Mask of Happiness said calmly.

The people with the Masks of Anger, Grief, and Resentment fell silent when they heard it, but they still looked at the person with the Mask of Happiness with curiosity.

At that moment, the crystal mirror around they sat suddenly became muddled. As clouds and fog surrounded it, it looked like there was wind stirring up and clouds surging around them. Buzzing sounds reverberated in the area, and the people with Masks of Anger, Grief, and Resentment immediately looked over. Only the person with the Mask of Happiness remained as aloof as ever.