Pursuit of the Truth

As more parts of the gigantic battleship slowly showed up from the Relocation Rune along with Su Ming, who was dressed in the Sacred Constellation Robe and had his long hair fluttering in the air while his hands were placed behind his back as he stood at the bow of the ship, all the people’s gazes were trained on him at the instant he appeared!

“Your Highness, we welcome you back to our sect!” At that moment, the cultivators dressed in black armor who belonged to Su Ming and were around him spoke at once, their voices shaking the sky and earth and all the people around them!

The blue sky was filled with white clouds, causing the sky to look as if it was filled with a peacefulness. When anyone looked into the distance, they would find that the land was boundless. It… was Morning Dao Sect.

There were no galaxies in this place, only sky and earth. However, they were so vast that even with Su Ming’s Atman, he could not completely cover them.

There were ninety-nine mountains that towered into the clouds in the vast land. They stood tall and exuded waves of mighty pressure that made it seem as if they were defending the land, making all those who saw it to be unable to disagree with how huge the place was.

Above the ninety-nine mountains were nine continents that formed the shape of a circle floating in the sky. They existed far in the distance. If anyone looked over, they could only see a circular mark, unable to see the continents unless they scaled the sky. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to see the full thing.

There also seemed to be other continents above the nine continents, but they were too far away and could not be identified clearly.

If that was the case, then even though Morning Dao Sect was huge, it did not really fit the image of being the strongest sect in True Morning Dao World. It might be big, but it was still not enough.

However, the memories which belonged to Dao Kong in Su Ming’s head allowed him to understand that the seemingly boundless continent upon which he currently stood was in truth floating in midair, and there were nine hundred and ninety-nine such continents in Morning Dao Sect.

They were all floating in midair, forming a gigantic ring, and beneath them… were Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine continents to form an even bigger one. They were… all floating in the sky.

At the bottommost part was an ocean. It was a mysterious area known as the Dao Ocean. It was a forbidden region, but there was no need to intentionally label that place as such. It was known like that just to warn all the disciples from Morning Dao Sect who wanted to go to the Dao Ocean that it was very dangerous.

In truth, over the course of countless years, no one had ever returned once they stepped into Dao Ocean. All of them died. It was a forbidden region for the living.

There were rumors in True Morning Dao World that it was in truth formed by Dao Ocean, that the first Dao Chen was just a clone of it.

However, rumors were only rumors. No one knew whether it was real. Perhaps only every single Dao Chen who was ever born would know whether the rumor was true or not.

Su Ming averted his eyes from the sky. Once he swept his gaze past the area and the battleship under his feet gradually gained more complete form, he saw the near ten thousand cultivators looking towards him at that moment.

He swept his gaze past them, and all those who met his gaze would find their hearts trembling. They had a strong feeling that Su Ming’s eyes had turned into sharp arrows that pierced their hearts when he looked at them, causing their cultivation bases to become chaotic and loud bangs to ring within them.

At that instant, the people moved back simultaneously. Those with higher levels of cultivation were in a better state and it was just their hearts that trembled, but those who had lower levels of cultivation heard a ringing in their head. Their minds went blank, and a great desire to worship Su Ming rose within them. They felt that if they did not worship him once they met his gaze, their hearts would be torn to pieces while they broke down.

With the loud bangs in their heads, the cultivators were forced back, then wrapped their fists in their palms to bow together towards Su Ming.

“Your Highness, welcome back to the sect!”

The voices rose and fell before gradually turning into a wave of sound that rumbled through the area. In the crowd, the three middle-aged men who represented the three Dynasts stood with pale faces. When they moved back, their eyes were filled with great shock.

When the battleships all passed through the Relocation Rune and the light from it disappeared, the nine old Frail Darknesses, Xu Hui, Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, and Zhu You Cai also showed up. By Su Ming’s side was the Abyss Dragon, who had been released and had turned into a big yellow dog at that moment, and along with it was the bald crane. They appeared as the Dual Fiends at that moment.

Next was the catwoman. Too much of her blood and essence had been absorbed by the boy with the blood of Ancient Wu, so she had recovered only a little with much difficulty, but had been released before Su Ming stepped into the Relocation Rune. At that moment, she stood by his side. Her face was slightly pale, but when she looked towards Su Ming, her gaze was much different from before.

The appearance of the entire group, the hundreds of battleships in the sky, and the mighty pressure formed by Su Ming’s gaze fused together to create an incredibly powerful, intimidating force.

Su Ming’s expression was calm. When he swept his gaze past the land, he cast his eyes on the three direct descendants. They had many followers and guards where they stood, which was why they were incredibly distinct in the crowd.

“I need a follower. It doesn’t matter whether you are a direct descendant or whether you are from another race, I need someone who is incredibly familiar with Morning Dao Sect so that I can fill in the gaps regarding things I missed over the thousand something years I was gone.

“All of you have come to welcome my return, so is there anyone among you who is willing to take up this position?” Su Ming asked faintly. His voice was not loud, but it managed to reach every single person’s heart.

The ten thousand people immediately fell silent. There were quite a number of them who were hesitant. They felt that it was a great chance, but Su Ming had just arrived. He might have a great presence that seemed like a tidal wave, but no matter what, the other nine Dynasts were also prodigies. There would surely be a devastating competition between all ten of them in the future. Because of that, the result of going into it without careful consideration would be eternal damnation if something went wrong.

Which was why the hesitating people found it hard to make a decision.

“I knew it was you, you old flame monster!”

A cold harrumph came from Progenitor Tai Shan, who was not too far away in the distance. Those words and the cold harrumph immediately caused the hesitant people to lose all thoughts of joining Su Ming. All of them noticed that something was off.

The white-haired Tai Shan cast his gaze on Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, who was behind Su Ming. Even though Flame Fiends’ Progenitor had a hood over his head, he was still an Almighty. Huo Kui could deceive all the other people in the area, but he could not lie to Progenitor Tai Shan, who knew of some of the things that had happened outside.

“Heh heh, I knew I’d run into you here, you old coot. Tai Shan, Tai Shan, why don’t you just lift a mountain and have it crush you to death [1]?” Flame Fiends’ Progenitor chuckled in a low voice. When he raised his head, he pulled off the hood to reveal his hideous face, and he directed his red eyes towards Progenitor Tai Shan.

“If you aren’t burned to death, then how will I be crushed by a mountain?”

Progenitor Tai Shan snorted coldly again. When he took a step forward, he charged towards Su Ming’s battleship. His arrival immediately caused the cultivators in the area to focus on him, especially the three middle-aged men who represented their Dynasts in checking whether Su Ming was truly as the rumors said. At that moment, delight appeared in their eyes.

The expressions of the nine old Frail Darknesses changed while they stood beside Su Ming. Even Xu Hui’s pupils shrank. The bald crane and the dog who was the Abyss Dragon were unaffected. They moved their heads side to side, occasionally staring at the area with brilliantly sparkling eyes while gulping.

Zhu You Cai had his eyes shut, completely ignoring everything around him. However, his gigantic stature had naturally been noticed by the others a long time ago.

Su Ming’s expression remained as calm as ever. He watched Progenitor Tai Shan approach them and listened to the echo of the words, suddenly reminded of the first time he had met Huo Kui and Zhu You Cai. Huo Kui had similarly used such biting words on Zhu You Cai, but in truth… their relationship had been pretty good.

At the instant Progenitor Tai Shan turned into a long arc and closed in on them, Flame Fiends’ Progenitor let out a long howl and rushed out to charge towards him as well. The two of them closed in on each other in midair, and their palms struck each other with a loud bang. They were forced back, and while Flame Fiends’ Progenitor moved back eight steps, Progenitor Tai Shan only took four steps back.

“You did this on your own accord?” Progenitor suddenly asked.

Su Ming had a calm expression on his face. He could tell with just one glance that Progenitor Tai Shan’s strike had not been an attack, but was aimed to test whether there was some sort of seal in the body of Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. Similarly, the palm strike from Flame Fiends’ Progenitor might have looked like he had attacked, but in truth, it was used to hide the divine thought he sent to Tai Shan at the moment they clashed.

“Rubbish, if I was unwilling, who could make me leave my nest?” Flame Fiends’ Progenitor grinned.

A smile also gradually appeared on Tai Shan’s face. His gaze fell on Su Ming, and after a moment of scrutiny, he narrowed his eyes before wrapping his fist in his palm towards Su Ming.

“I am Tai Shan. Greetings, Your Highness. This old flame monster and I are acquainted, and I owe him my life. If he had not lent me a hand when we were in the fifth kiln within Divine Essence Star Ocean, I would have died.

“I attacked him just now to test him. I hope that you will not mind. As for the follower you will need, there is no need for you to search for any other outsider. I have a disciple with me who is completely up to the task.

“Fei Er, come here quick and greet His Highness.” Smiling, Progenitor Tai Shan called out to the thin and frail teenager who had her head lowered in the distance. When he looked towards the girl, there was only loving affection in his eyes.

The teenager was of course a girl. She moved over with great reluctance and stood beside the old man. Once she cast a glance at Su Ming, she spoke in a lackadaisical manner. “I am Ma Fei. Greetings, Your Highness.”

“Oh, this child…” Progenitor Tai Shan glared at the girl. When he turned his head back to look at Su Ming, he spoke with a smile. “She is my only disciple. She’s had a weak constitution since she was young, but she is very intelligent. There is nothing that she does not know of in Morning Dao Sect. If you have anything that you do not understand, you can ask. If she misbehaves, you can discipline her as you please.

“I will hand this foolish disciple of mine to you. Please teach her well so that she will gain more experiences in her life.” Progenitor Tai Shan’s expression became serious. He wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming, then bowed deeply.

Su Ming cast Tai Shan a glance. He might not know what sort of message Huo Kui had delivered to him, but clearly, that message had caused the old man to push his disciple on him, and there were plenty of underlying meanings with that ‘outsider’ he mentioned just then. If Su Ming still did not understand what he meant, he wouldn’t be Su Ming.

He smiled faintly, willing to accept this gestures of goodwill. He swept his gaze past the thin and frail girl, but just as he was about to speak, he suddenly turned his head around and cast a glance at the distant sky.

“Dao Kong, you killed my older brother! Now, do you dare step up to fight against me by yourself?!” An enraged roar came from the distance. Along with it, a sword sliced through the air towards the battleships.

Translator’s Note:

1. Tai Shan, Tai Shan, why don’t you just lift a mountain and have it crush you to death: It’s a play of words, Tai Shan (台 tai2 山 shan1) means ‘to lift mountains’, so Huo Kui is basically saying he should literally lift a mountain.