Pursuit of the Truth

The foreign lands were fragmented and existed in countless cracks within the galaxy, including Western Ring Nebula. Even though centuries had passed since then, the mysteries and rumors about the place remained in the cultivators’ hearts and did not disappear.

Once they stepped in, then there was a high possibility that they would never be able to get out again. The mysterious veil about that place was something that only existed in name to Su Ming, but to most cultivators, the mighty pressure created by that mysteriousness was powerful enough to suffocate them .

Su Ming had not seen that place for hundreds of years, and when he returned to Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land again, he stared at the cracks in the galaxy. He did not say a word. Before his eyes, he seemed to be able to see himself hundreds of years ago being forced inside by the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds. He also saw himself wreaking havoc in their territory once he walked out, and then, he was chased down by an Almighty in Mastery Realm.

If that Almighty in Mastery Realm still dared to attack Su Ming, his palm would be cut off without any hesitation.

Su Ming said faintly, “Senior Chang He, please wait in this place. I still have some matters to attend to here.” Zhu You Cai did not speak, but closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged in the galaxy.

Su Ming turned his head around to cast a glance at Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. The thin old man immediately looked as if Su Ming’s words would be a sacred edict. A fawning smile appeared on his face, and he nodded rapidly.

Before Su Ming could even say anything about that kind of attitude, the bald crane, who no longer seemed dazed and sad as if it simply did not use its head to think, suddenly glared at Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, because it sensed an incredibly great threat that rushed straight into its head.

That threat came from the fawning look of Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. His expression caused the bald crane to be in an incredibly bad mood. It immediately spread open its bare wings, then put on an arrogant appearance and glared at Flame Fiends’ Progenitor with a profound gaze.

It bent its back and used the same fawning gaze to look at Su Ming before quickly saying, “Boss, should I go in and check things beforehand? If there is any sort of danger, with my abilities, I will definitely be able to resolve it. I won’t be like certain people whose entire bodies go up in flames and who don’t know how to share danger.” The bald crane’s solicitous words were something rarely spoken by it. Su Ming cast a sideways glance at it and smiled faintly.

Flame Fiends’ Progenitor was momentarily stunned before he cast a scrutinizing glance at the bird. An expression of wanting to face danger together with Su Ming appeared on his face. He might be an Almighty in Mastery Realm, but for living spirits, no matter how high their level of cultivation was, it was difficult for them to change their nature.

And it was the case for Flame Fiends’ Progenitor as well. When he was yet to become a Progenitor, he might have had quite a promising potential, but him being able to obtain his current level of cultivation and the legacy of the previous Flame Fiends’ Progenitor as well as being able to reach Mastery Realm in one go after slaughtering his way through numerous other potential successors was due to him being good at flattering his Progenitor in the past.

However, it had been a long time since he had used that skill. That was why when he used it, he was still a little rusty; he was no longer as good as he was in the past.

Su Ming did not bother with Flame Fiends’ Progenitor and the bald crane’s passive-aggressive fight. He moved toward the crack leading to Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land and charged into the crack, disappearing without a trace.

The bald crane might have been full of bold words, but in truth, from the depths of its heart, it did not want to enter Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land again. The time when it had fallen unconscious had traumatized it. When it saw Su Ming stepping into the place alone, it instantly let out a sigh of relief in its heart. However, anxiety appeared on its face then next moment and it turned its head around to glare at Flame Fiends’ Progenitor.

The expression of the man did not change. He grinned and stared at the bald crane before also putting on a fawning expression, but he was laughing coldly in his heart while thinking to himself that he had managed to blind many of his people with that appearance in the past. The calculative and conniving Su Ming was someone that he could not deceive, but the little birdy was definitely something that would be wrapped around his finger.

When the bald crane saw Flame Fiends’ Progenitor’s demeanor, it instantly felt its heart let out a loud thump and thought that it had underestimated him before. Hence even though it let out cold snort in its heart, its expression changed. Its glare turned into a smile and it went forward to hug the thin Flame Fiends’ Progenitor before laughing and acting as if they were great friends.

“Little Fire Boy, when I saw you, I instantly felt that you are someone that I can be great friends with!”

“You flatter me. Fellow Daoist Crane, you have the demeanor of an Immortal and the bones those from the path of Dao, I’m afraid that these old bones do not have to the courage to be friends with someone of such a high social position.”

‘Hmm? Are you looking down on your Grandpa Crane?’

The man and crane both had their own thoughts in their heads while fighting passive-aggressively with words, but despite them it was quiet in Western Ring Nebula’s foreign land. Quite a large number among the one hundred thousand stone monuments had made it past one million feet and stood tall on the ground.

Among them were a certain ten thousand stone monuments. Their color might have seemed normal, but if anyone took a closer look, they would be able to tell… that they were purple!

There were plenty of people sitting and meditating beneath those the hundred thousand stone monuments. Occasionally, they would lift their heads and look at the ten thousand purple stone monuments, and all of their faces would show desire and envy.

At that moment, there were dozens of people sitting under them. They did not move and their expressions were calm. However, in that silence was a determination and an air of supremacy.

That was because they owned the purple stone monuments and because… their stone monuments were the only ones among the one hundred thousand stone monuments that would not be destroyed by the will of the law in the land. The purple stone monuments would only have people added to them, but not lose anyone of their own.

However, that was not absolute. They might not die because of outsiders replacing them… but there was another law among the purple stone monuments, and all of the people in the place knew about it.

Each year, there would be people who would die, and those ten would be the weakest ten among the lot.

It did not matter how tall was a person’s stone monument. As long as their level of cultivation was at the bottom, they would be wiped off within a hundred something years. Because of that, those who possessed the purple stone monuments were somewhat unique, besides the fact that they immersed in practicing cultivation for their whole lives.

“Purple stone monument… It’s a pity that when I entered this place, the purple stone monuments did not choose me, or else I would have been able to become one of their tributes… and I wouldn’t have to live in constant fear every single day. I would only need to train madly to be able to avoid being killed.”

“This is our lives. But why are the purple stone monuments so unique, and from what I see, they only number to about a couple thousands?”

“It’s only been a short time since you came here, but this is largely connected… to a legend from the past.” In the quiet land with one hundred thousand stone monuments, there would occasionally be a few gazes which would land on the ten thousand purple stone monuments, and the faint voices of a few people speaking would be heard.

While they were discussing things among themselves, the tallest purple stone monument suddenly shone, and an old man walked out from it which was one million something feet tall.

The old man had an ancientness to him. At the instant he walked out, he attracted the gazes of all the people in the area, especially the dozens of people underneath the purple stone monuments. All of them got up and bowed deeply to him.

“Greetings, Progenitor.”

The old man nodded. Without saying a single word, he sat down cross-legged underneath his stone monument and closed his eyes to meditate.

“It’s Zhao Family’s Progenitor!” The low-voiced discussion among the people from the other stone monuments echoed faintly in the air.

“That’s right. That person’s stone monument has long since reached the size at which he can go out, but he never chose to go. Instead, he’s training in a frenzy…”

“I heard from someone about a legend that happened a long time ago… There was a person called Mo Su…”

“Quiet! It’s best not to mention his name in this place. He’s not someone people like us can talk about.”

“Oh? Then why can Big Brother Zhou talk about him?”

“Big Brother Zhou? You’re talking about Zhou Kang [1], right? He’s… different from us.”

While the people from other stone monuments discussed the old events among themselves, a violent shudder ran through the land with the one hundred thousand stone monuments, as if wind had risen and clouds were surging. Rumbling sounds ring in the air.

They spread in all directions, causing the ground to tremble and the air to continuously tumble about before turning into a drastic change that swept through the land.

Cries of surprise instantly traveled in all directions. The land, which had countless stone monuments standing on it and only had some cultivators sitting cross-legged under them, trembled furiously as booming sounds reached a deafening volume.

While the stone monuments trembled, they immediately shone with dazzling light, and their cultivators were forced out. Some of them had grim expressions on their faces while others panicked openly. They looked upwards together.

Boom!

When a loud bang traveled downwards like the might of heavens, the originally indistinct purple hue above the ten thousand purple stone monuments among the one hundred thousand stone monuments in the land shone with a purple light brighter than anyone had ever seen. As it reached a piercing degree, it instantly covered the land, causing the ten thousand purple stone monuments among the one hundred thousand to be incredibly striking!

Zhao Family’s Progenitor’s heart shuddered. He opened his eyes, and when he raised his head to look above him, a hint of rarely seen excitement appeared on his face. The other owners of the purple stone monuments beside him started trembling furiously. They could sense an incomparably familiar presence, and there was a great urge within them to bow down and worship it. As the tremors in the land grew stronger, that urge grew stronger in their hearts as well.

The transformation in the land was something that plenty of them did not remember because they had never experienced it, but there were still a handful of people who seemed to have vague recollection, and their expressions changed to resemble something that was akin to a mix between excitement and anxiety.

Zhou Kang was sitting quietly under his stone monument. When he lifted his head to look at the tumbling air above him, a hint of sentimentality appeared in his eyes. He knew… that Mo Su had returned.

“I, Zhao Tian Gang, welcome back our liege!” Zhao Family’s Progenitor stood up and wrapped his fist in his palm before bowing deeply towards the sky.

When his ancient voice echoed in the air, all the owners of the purple stone monuments worshiped the sky together.

“Welcome back, our liege!”

Their voices spread out, resulting in loud bangs that shook the people from the other ninety thousand stone monuments. As their expressions changed continuously, the sky roared, the fog and clouds tumbled back madly in two directions to reveal a gigantic crack, and a figure with an indifferent expression walked over from the distance. Slowly, it grew clearer in everyone’s eyes.

Mo Su!

Translator’s Note:

1. Zhou Kang: The person who briefed Su Ming about the foreign land when he arrived, was friendly to him, whose wife, Si Ma Yue, was killed, who Su Ming transferred from the blue stone monument to the purple stone monument, and who refused to leave this place because he wanted to remember his wife.