Pursuit of the Truth

“Y-you… You can see me!”

The clone’s mind was in a mess at that moment. He did not think that Su Ming would be able to see his surroundings in the pitch-black world within the Sun Sinking Talisman.

This was something that the clone had been sure about. Himself, he could see his surroundings clearly. After all, it was not due to his eyes that he was able to notice Su Ming, but due to his perception. Since the other was the original body, its existence was like a ball of flames in his eyes.

The reason Su Ming was unable to perceive the clone in the same manner was also because of their relationship. It was like a small and big object. Due to the small object being small, it was hard to notice it, while the big object would be incredibly clear in the eyes of the small object.

The clone was almost scared out of his wits at that moment. As he retreated swiftly, a cold sneer appeared on Su Ming’s lips, and he took a step forward to give chase.

“This time, I’d like to see how you’ll run!”

Su Ming’s voice was ghastly, and it had an imposing tone that caused the clone’s heart to tremble. As he retreated, he gritted his teeth, then with a roar, he executed the Forbidden Art to stimulate his potential by having his bones act as his skin while his flesh went inside him. His speed instantly increased exponentially. The instant Su Ming raised his right hand and seized space, the clone escaped by a hair’s breadth, fleeing madly.

Su Ming let out a cold harrumph. He clenched his fist, and booming sounds immediately rose all around him. They came from the white ring which Su Ming had released earlier. It shrunk swiftly. As it did so, its ripple became an unmovable barrier. The clone couldn’t get past it and could only wait to be captured.

All of this happened in an instant. The moment it was done, Su Ming charged towards the clone once more. The clone might be incredibly fast, but there was a reason why the Art he used was known as a Forbidden Art. It had its drawbacks, like it could not be used for long periods of time, especially when it was cast twice in a row. The clone had less time than it takes for an incense stick to burn. After that, he would not only immediately slow down, he would also be heavily injured.

But what else could he do besides this? He gritted his teeth and charged forward as blood trickled down the corners of his mouth. He rushed desperately towards the place where the Sun Sinking Talisman was at the center of this black world. Only when he was there would he have the slightest chance of survival.

Roars reverberated in the world outside at that moment. The sound of the ripple from the ring shrinking inwards signified a dead end. The clone would only have a chance to survive if he reached the Sun Sinking Talisman, where both of their cultivation bases would be suppressed to their limit.

That was why had activated his full speed regardless of the cost. He was confident that he could reach that place in the span of the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, but he did not see that a hint of derision had appeared in Su Ming’s expression as he chased after him.

‘The sentience born due to the Heavenly Incense Rune might make the clone very similar to me, but he is more easily alarmed and less cautious. Once he runs into life-threatening situations, his confidence falters, and he will run… for a dozen-something breaths. Then, I’d like to see how you will continue running away.’

Su Ming chased after the clone at a moderate pace. He could sense that his level of cultivation had been suppressed, and he was no longer in a stable state in Solar Kalpa Realm. He fell to Lunar Kalpa Realm, then his level of cultivation was reduced to that of a person who had attained great completion in World Plane Realm.

And this had only taken sixteen breaths.

At that moment, the clone coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, and his body shuddered. He had thought that the Forbidden Art could last for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, but the duration had been cut short. A feeling of weakness rose in his heart, and it resulted in a broken smile on his face.

He disregarded the suppression of his cultivation base. The suppression on his physical body was slightly less, but he was charging straight at the Sun Sinking Talisman. Besides, he had activated the Forbidden Art, so it had become way worse, and it all fell on his already weakened body.

This was why the duration of the Forbidden Art had been reduced to only eighteen breaths instead of the original span of time which was the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.

The instant the clone slowed down, Su Ming took a step forward. When he raised his right hand, a mighty power landed at the top of the clone’s head. At the same time, Su Ming’s will surged into his body. He was about to execute the second Possession.

The fear of death stimulated the clone, and he let out a shrill scream filled with his desire to live. Tnstant Su Ming activated Possession, his body shuddered, and a crack immediately appeared at the center of his brows. The moment Su Ming’s Nascent Divinity filled the clone’s body, a small human crawled out from the crack at center of the clone’s brows and fled madly into the distance.

The small human was the independent will born in the clone due to the Heavenly Incense Rune. It could be said that it was a soul, but it could also be said that it was a Nascent Divinity. At that moment, its speed instantly became incredibly great, and it rushed towards the Sun Sinking Talisman.

The body of the clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole no longer had any form of consciousness or soul. To Su Ming, there was no longer any need to Possess it. The thing before him was only an empty shell.

His Nascent Divinity instantly fused back into him, and he quickly retrieved the body to put it into his storage bag. Then, Su Ming lifted his head and stared at the gigantic runic symbol in the shape of a long strip within the huge gray screen of light. It stood distinctly before his eyes despite being far in the distance.

The clone’s soul was charging at the runic symbol.

‘Without your soul, I cannot Possess you, and I will not be able to go through the second Possession. I wonder what will happen during the second Possession. Honestly, I’m very curious about it.’

Su Ming narrowed his eyes. The reason why he was so incredibly persistent in chasing down the clone was not just to make him his clone again, but more importantly, because he wanted to know whether he could Possess the same clone the second time and whether there would be some changes if that happened.

With that sort of thought in mind, there was no way he would let the clone who had formed an independent will go so easily. This was such a rare occurrence.

He let out a cold harrumph and moved forward to chase down the clone’s soul.

The two of them were already incredibly close to the Sun Sinking Talisman, so the clone soon arrived at its side. The moment he reached it, his soul started trembling, and he started becoming vague, as if he was withstanding some sort of mighty pressure and was about to dissipate.

Su Ming had also felt his level of cultivation being restrained in a manner that he had never experienced before. His level of cultivation was being continuously weakened while he was getting close to the talisman. He fell from great completion in World Plane Realm to only possessing the power belonging to those in the later stage of World Plane Realm, then fell to the middle stage before sinking straight to the initial stage. When he closed in on the talisman, his cultivation base sank swiftly, and from Heaven Cultivation Realm, he dropped to Earth Cultivation Realm.

This was a power level he had not experienced in a long time. It was the level of cultivation he had possessed when he was sent from the land of Berserkers to Divine Essence Star Ocean. Even so, Su Ming’s intelligence and experience collected over the years did not allow a single change on his face. He might have become much slower, but he showed no hesitation. In an instant, he reached the Sun Sinking Talisman.

Booming sounds surged through the area. The moment Su Ming arrived at the Sun Sinking Talisman, the white ring swept towards him from all around him. It had already shrunk to a point where it could envelop the Sun Sinking Talisman within it.

The clone’s soul looked like it was about to crumble. When it saw that the white ring had completely sealed the area and Su Ming was walking towards him, panic and fear which had never appeared on it before showed up on its face.

“Why are you in such a hurry to kill me? I’ve already given you my physical body—” the clone screamed in a shrill voice.

“Your physical body?” Su Ming chuckled coldly.

He did not waste his breath on the clone. He took a step forward and charged towards it, then lifted his right hand and seized it.

Despair appeared on the soul’s face. It had no power to fight Su Ming. Even if what Su Ming showed at that moment was the power of those in Earth Cultivation Realm, the clone could not face it.

Madness and desperation twisted his features. The instant Su Ming seized him, he closed his eyes before swiftly opening them again. The aura of self-destruction instantly surrounded the soul. But the clone knew that self-destruction was useless. It knew that Su Ming was skilled in reversing time… but it could not accept not even attempting self-destruction and just allowed itself to be wiped off.

That was why even though it knew it was useless, it still chose to self-destruct in a bout of madness. However, just as it had known it would be, self-destruction was completely useless before Su Ming.

The power of time reversing blew past him. Su Ming caught the clone’s soul, and once he curled his fingers around it, layers of seals immediately covered it. Only then did Su MIng put it into his storage bag. Once he left the place and his level of cultivation was no longer suppressed, he would immediately place the soul back into his clone’s body and Possess it a second time.

Once he sealed the clone’s soul, Su Ming lifted his head and cast a glance at the huge Sun Sinking Talisman. The gray light shone a hundred thousand feet around it, and there were three large words written on it. However, Su Ming did not know those characters whole strokes formed the entirety of the talisman. Yet when he looked over, he could sense a primitive, savage power contained within them.

For some unknown reason, the ancient feeling brought back memories of the Ancestral Spirits who were worshiped in Divine Essence Star Ocean. In fact, Su Ming could sense that the terrifying power in the talisman surpassed that of the white ring. It was clearly a supreme talisman which was in Avanicaya Realm.

Su Ming did not intend to linger for too long in this place. His level of cultivation had been suppressed to the point that his Earth Cultivation was already showing signs of instability. He turned around, intending to leave and return to the world outside to reunite with his senior brothers, but the moment he raised his foot, the Sun Sinking Talisman suddenly shuddered.

“The presence of an offering has appeared… Activate All Spirits Hall… Make the offering… and you can enter All Spirits Hall…”

Buzzing sounds came from the Sun Sinking Talisman. A strange voice traveled through the area, causing Su Ming’s heart to tremble. At that instant, a great suction force came from the runic symbol. It enveloped Su Ming’s body and pulled him over, as if it wanting to drag him into the runic symbol.

“There is no offering… the ritual master will offer himself as an offering…”

The buzzing sounds became as loud as a roar, and Su Ming’s expression changed drastically. The suction force had suddenly increased exponentially. The instant it looked like Su Ming would be dragged into the runic symbol, he lifted his right hand and pointed at the white ring. It shrank with a whistle and fixed itself on his right index finger to drag him out.

When Su Ming was about to leave the suction area, light shone on the Sun Sinking Talisman, and a Relocation power was activated. Su Ming’s eyes went wide, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips as a light spread out and covered him. It disappeared the next instant, but by then, Su Ming was already gone from the black world.