Pursuit of the Truth

Su Ming’s Arid Curse came from the land of Berserkers, and his epiphany of it came from Ugly Little Thing’s father, a man who was clearly a mortal, but had been able to create extraordinary blessings. Su Ming had also obtained the ring that symbolized the Curse from Madam Ji’s body. When he merged all of these together, his understanding of the Curse became incredibly great.

It was especially so when his change of heart had been resolved by a doll he weaved from the grass, then imprinted into his heart. It could be said that the Curse had accompanied Su Ming through his entire life, and it stayed with him until he became an Antecedental Spirit. At that time, he gathered all his understanding of it and created… the Arid Curse!

This was a strange Art that could Curse Arid Triad. Su Ming had only cast it briefly before the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe and did not execute it fully, but at that time, he had already caused the old man’s expression to change. In fact, the Art had even stirred up the sleeping Arid Triad, making his original form show signs of waking up early.

After all, the young man formed by Arid Triad in the flesh tunnel and the person who appeared under the tree in the capital planet of the Emperor of Abyss’ True World were in truth just manifestations of Arid Triad’s will. They were Arid Triad, but also not him.

They were Arid Triad because they were indeed manifestations of his will, which was not much weaker than the awakened Arid Triad, but they were not Arid Triad because they were just remnants of Arid Triad’s will before he woke up. That will only had one goal, and it was to destroy all existences who could pose a threat to him.

And Su Ming’s Arid Curse had made Arid Triad’s original form show signs of waking up. It might be impossible for him to truly make the sleeping Arid Triad wake up, but the fact that the Curse could disturb him was enough to tell just how strong it was.

Furthermore, at that time, Su Ming had just become an Antecedental Spirit. Since then, however, he had already become the strongest in his aeon. The enhancement of his cultivation base and will were difficult to describe in detail. The only words that could be used were that the difference between his current self and his past self was akin to heaven and earth.

Hence, if the current Su Ming cast the Arid Curse, the effects would be much stronger than before.

The ring was the strongest treasure Su Ming had obtained before he became an Antecedental Spirit, but right then… As Su Ming’s words echoed in the air and he lifted his right hand to strike the ring, he needed to use it to get himself out of his predicament. The matter had already stirred up a killing intent in Su Ming that he would not suppress!

When he brought up his right hand, he drew an arc in the flesh tunnel, causing the fog to tumble. Booming sounds rang out, and his right hand shot out like a lightning to touch the ring.

The ring jolted. When light cracking sounds could be heard, numerous cracks spread through the ring… until they covered it whole!

Moments after Su Ming struck the ring, it shattered!

Dozens of fragments spread out, and from a distance, they could be seen forming a circle that continuously expanded.

When the ring shattered, threads that could only be seen by the young man formed by Arid Triad’s will were released from Su Ming’s body.

The young man might have been hidden in the fog, but it was transparent before him. He could clearly see Su Ming throwing a ring forward. Upon seeing it, he hesitated for a moment, and Su Ming shattered the ring with his right hand. Then, thirty-six thousand something threads were instantly released from all the pores in his body!

This scene caused the young man’s pupils to shrink. A sense of danger instantly rose in his body. He was a threat to Su Ming, and similarly, Su Ming was also a threat to him, or else he would not have needed to spend so much time and effort to set up this plot to murder him.

“This is…”

The young man moved to act, but he was a step too late. The thirty-six thousand something threads, which no one else could see, were already released from Su Ming’s body. When they rushed out of him, they gathered on his right hand and began weaving with each other.

The description of the scene might have made things seem to have happened slowly, but in truth, everything happened in the blink of an eye. The thirty-six thousand something threads finished weaving themselves in a moment and formed a doll before Su Ming’s right hand.

The doll possessed a human’s body, but had five heads. One of its head was that of a hissing python, another belonged to a tiger with stripes on its head, one was a wolf’s head filled with greed, one was an incredibly dark dragon head, and the one at the center belonged to a boy with contorted features.

The doll created based on Su Ming’s Curse was clearly… the Five-Faced Beast Deity who he had fought before! It was a peerless ferocious beast which had once commanded the sky and earth in Arid Triad until Arid Triad sealed it and destroyed it. At that moment, Su Ming made it appear in the form of a puppet and used his right hand to point at the circle formed by the ring.

With it, the five heads of the doll belonging to the Five-Faced Beast Deity jolted. They rose up as if just having been brought to life. They threw their heads back and let out a roar that shook the sky and earth, then charged towards the circle formed by the shattered fragments of the ring.

They instantly surged inside, bringing with them afterimages formed by the countless long threads behind them. It was as if the circle was an invisible exit, and the Five-Faced Beast Deity was about to rush out through it.

The young man formed by Arid Triad moved through the fog and appeared in front of Su Ming. This was the first time he attacked Su Ming directly, and it was unlike the time they had fought with words under the tree. It was also unlike how he had just sealed off all exists in the flesh tunnel.

Right then, for the first time after he showed up in front of Su Ming, a freezing glare appeared in his eyes. A supreme might erupted from his body, which made the entire tunnel tremble. The 360 Expanse Cosmoses in Dark Dawn and Saint Defier beyond the tunnel also shuddered. The four Great True Worlds, too, trembled. Even the True Worlds seemed to be oppressed.

That was Arid Triad’s power. At the instant his presence erupted, the young man formed by Arid Triad raised his right hand in front of Su Ming. He did not try to grab Su Ming, but instead went to grab the Five-Faced Beast Deity doll. Judging by the looks of it, the Five-Faced Beast Deity could not dodge his hands. If the young man touched it, the doll would immediately shatter.

Yet the young man’s expression was incredibly grim. Clearly, Su Ming’s Curse was contained in the doll, and even his pupils would shrank before it.

But he had to destroy the doll. He could see through Su Ming’s plan, and he would not allow him to successfully break out. As long as Su Ming could not send his will out and remained trapped, Arid Triad would be able to devour and merge with him without wasting any effort.

Su Ming’s eyes flashed. He took a step forward and lifted his left hand to form a seal before he swiftly pushed it towards the young man. When he did so, all of his flesh and blood instantly withered slightly. It was as if this attack had sucked out a little of his life, blood, and soul.

However, it was worth the price for the young man’s pupils instantly shrank. He was forced to give up on grabbing the Five-Faced Beast Deity with his right hand, because Su Ming’s attack gave him a sense of danger he had never felt before!

The moment Su Ming executed his attack towards Arid Triad and his body withered, his True Immortal Sect World in Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos collapsed. With loud booming sounds, the entire True World withered and shrank…

This was the price Su Ming had to pay for his attack.

The young man’s right hand changed direction. His palm swiftly swept outwards and approached Su Ming’s incoming strike.

“You sacrificed a True World in exchange for this one strike I would not be able to ignore… Su Ming, I’ve still underestimated you.” When the low voice of the young man formed by Arid Triad echoed in the air, his right hand instantly crashed against Su Ming’s left hand.

A loud rumble shook the sky and earth. Su Ming shuddered and coughed up seven mouthfuls of blood. He could not help but stagger backwards, and with every single step he took, a large amount of pink fog would seep into his body, causing his skin to appear a bizarre shade of pink.

With every single mouthful of blood he coughed up, his gaze would become more muddled despite him struggling to clear it up. After coughing seven mouthfuls of blood, Su Ming lifted his head.

Once the young man came into contact with the attack Su Ming had formed by making an entire True World wither, his body collapsed, but immediately after, the shattered bits gathered together again, though they soon collapsed once more before gathering together again. The shattered bits gathered together seven times only to fall apart. Only during the eighth time, when he neared the walls of the flesh tunnel and all the fog in the area was pushed outwards, did he regain his form. When he lifted his head, his face was slightly pale.

When Su Ming saw this, his pupils shrank in a barely noticeable manner. The two of them might seem to be equal in strength, but in truth… Arid Triad had still split a portion of his will and sealed it in the flesh tunnel, or else when their attacks connected just then, the flesh tunnel would have definitely shattered and collapsed.

“Su Ming… what a man!” As he spoke, Arid Triad moved forward, and with an extreme speed, he charged at the Five-Faced Beast Deity, who was about to rush into the spreading circle formed by the fragments of the ring. “But before me, you can’t make a fuss.”

Su Ming turned to the Five-Faced Beast Deity. “You were sealed by this person in the past. We were never enemies to begin with, and we will not be enemies. I used this doll to gather up your resentment, and with the Arid Curse, I gave you a chance by recreating your body. If after all that you still can’t charge out of this place, both your form and soul will be destroyed!

“If you give it your all and escape, then as long as you manage to flee, I promise… as long as I do not die, you will not die as well!”

Su Ming knew that if he wanted to cast the Arid Curse before Arid Triad and escape from the flesh tunnel to activate the backlash against the three people from Saint Defier, then his main focus laid in Arid Triad himself.

And he only had one chance, that was why… Su Ming chose to use the Curse to manifest the thoughts of this creature he saw before—the Five-Faced Beast Deity!