Pursuit of the Truth

Dao was not solitary.

The ones who understood Dao would lament that their Dao was not solitary. Su Ming… had also thought of that question before.

He was the first to walk out of the vortex, but there was no other emotion besides calmness on his face. It was as if he was walking on the path to search for Dao. The peace in his heart was reflected on his face in the form of indifference.

There was an old man among the near one hundred cultivators who were responsible for the training of the outer sect disciples in Seven Moons Sect. Once he saw Su Ming, his expression changed to show disbelief.

Once the others saw Su Ming, they immediately sent word to each other as well. Soon, all the people shifted their gazes to the old man whose expression had changed. In their eyes were harmless envy. In fact, there was even a hint of respect in them.

This was not the first time they sent disciples into the trial grounds, so they knew very clearly that no matter which trial it was, the first person who had the right to walk out of the vortex was definitely… the strongest and most prodigious in that trial!

But the old man felt as if his heart had frozen over. He forced a smile on his face, but it was filled with bitterness and anguish. In fact, he even took a few instinctive steps backwards.

When everyone’s gazes landed on Su Ming’s right hand, the area suddenly fell into dead silence. After some time, the sounds of sharp intakes of breath appeared. Everyone had discovered that there were one hundred something spirit plates in Su Ming’s right hand!

“A Chosen!”

“A Chosen has appeared in this trial!”

“Haha, Brother Chen, this time, you have hope of getting promoted! Congratulations! A Chosen has appeared among your disciples!”

Shock was on the cultivators’ faces, but the moment they spoke, Ye Long appeared behind Su Ming. In his hand, he also held one hundred spirit plates. Immediately, all the cultivators in the area were completely stunned.

“Two… Two Chosens appeared in the trial this time!”

“He’s Ye Long! I know this boy, he’s the disciple of the chief attendant!”

“Having two Chosens appear in one go is incredibly rare in the history of Seven Moons Sect. I wonder if they can become sect elders in the end, and whether one of them… will reach Avacaniya Realm in one hundred years!”

The cultivators in the area were all shocked after seeing Su Ming and Ye Long. When they spoke, they continuously looked towards old Chen and a middle-aged scholar.

There was a gratified smile on the scholar’s face. When he looked at Ye Long, his face was filled with praise. Occasionally, his gaze would fall on Su Ming, and his eyes would narrow. Clearly, Su Ming’s appearance was completely out of his expectations. He had thought that Ye Long would definitely place first in the trial.

The old Chen’s face soon lost its paleness, but his smile was still a little unnatural, and it was especially so when his gaze swept past the crowd behind Su Ming and he found no signs of the girl who had absorbed the life force of the body Su Ming Possessed. A hint of pain appeared in his eyes. When he looked at Su Ming, a barely noticeable killing intent entered his gaze.

As the people on the land spoke to each other, even the old man who had originally been sitting and meditating in the sky felt a hint of shock. His gaze landed on Su Ming and Ye Long. He did not even bother paying attention to the people behind the two of them, who had now all come out of the vortex and become inner sect disciples.

After taking a look at Su Ming and Ye Long, the old man stood up. He would be polite to the two Chosens. After all, no one could say just what would their future be. If he formed good ties with them while they were still weak, it would be beneficial for him in the future.

He had seen examples of that before. When he got up and was about to speak, a long arc sliced through the air from Seven Moons Sect. Once it drew close, it turned into a young man.

He was dressed in a long red robe and had an aloof expression. Once he appeared, he swept his gaze across the land. His eyes landed on Su Ming and Ye Long, and the aloof look on his face disappeared, replaced by a faint smile.

“The two of you must be junior brothers Wang Tao and Ye Long. Please come with me to the inner sect’s field. The sect elders are already waiting for you. They asked me to bring the two of you to them.”

When the young man spoke with a smile, he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to Su Ming and Ye Wang.

Su Ming got up and appeared next to the young man. When he wrapped his fist in his palm and returned the greeting, Ye Long joined them as well. The three of them turned into long arcs that instantly left into the distance, leaving behind three afterimages and the envious gazes from the other people.

“Junior brothers, you are both proud sons of heaven. I admire you very much for being able to be personally summoned by the sect elders!”

While the three of them rushed forward, the young man spoke with a smile. He no longer had the aloof look on his face. Clearly, it was only aimed at other people. As for Su Ming and Ye Long, he would naturally not treat them aloofly.

“If you have a chance in the future, please do remember to recommended those of us in the same part of the sect, and if you run into anything you don’t understand in the inner sect, you can come to me. I am De Shun. My De means morals, and Shun is related to my personality, because I like things going smoothly,” the young man said with a smile, then turned his head around to look at Su Ming and Ye Long.

At the instant Su Ming heard the young man’s words, he narrowed his eyes in a barely noticeable manner, then scrutinized the young man before him. He did not speak, just nodded.

His expression might have seemed as calm as ever, but in truth, a huge storm had started raging in his heart. In the new world, he had seen a different Tian Xie Zi, a different Ye Wang, the ruins of Divine Essence Star Ocean, and a different De Shun!

All of this forced Su Ming to think carefully about what the world was. Was it truly the world in Xuan Zang’s body? He had clearly Possessed Xuan Zang, so why had he become connected to the strange world?

And if it was truly the world in Xuan Zang’s body… then why would the people which gave him a sense of familiarity appear? Just what was going on?!

A hint of confusion appeared in the depths of Su Ming’s eyes, and there was a hint of alarm and fear in it. A terrifying thought had appeared in Su Ming’s head, and it frightened him.

It has to be known that with Su Ming’s level of cultivation and his control over his emotions, even if Harmonious Morus Alba was destroyed, he did not show fear, but at that moment, it had really entered his eyes.

But Su Ming suppressed it soon after it appeared.

‘I need more proof. I can’t make judgements hastily!’

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He followed the young man called De Shun and stepped into the sky above the basin surrounded by mountains in Seven Moons Sect.

All along the way, De Shun chattered about things regarding the inner sect of Seven Moons Sect, and even spilled some secrets. He spoke about everything in great detail.

From a distance, Seven Moons Sect looked incredibly huge. It seemed to form a Rune, which filled the place with an unseen mighty pressure. When the three of them descended from the sky, De Shun still continued speaking.

“From here onwards, you can’t fly anymore. It would be a sign of disrespect to the sect, and it’s easy to cause misunderstandings, so please remember this well, junior brothers.” As he spoke, he brought Su Ming and Ye Long to head to the field in the distance through the path laid out before them.

Along the way, they ran into quite a number of Seven Moon Sect disciples. Most of them showed a friendly attitude when they saw De Shun. Some of them even joked with him, which was a telling sign of how great were his connections.

When they drew close to the field, De Shun stopped and wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming and Ye Long.

“Junior brothers, I can only send you this far. Keep walking forward, and you’ll step into the field. In the future, if we meet again in the sect, we’ll be friends. Come to me if you have any questions,” De Shun said with a smile. Once he bowed to them, he turned around and left.

Su Ming cast a deep glance at De Shun’s back.

“I don’t like that person. He’s a little too unctuous for my liking. He definitely has his motives for getting close to us,” Ye Long said slowly.

“I don’t like him either.” Su Ming smiled. He turned around and walked towards the field in the distance.

Ye Long cast a glance at Su Ming’s back. He did not speak, but followed behind him. The two of them gradually walked into the field.

The moment they stepped into it, the ground shone with the activation of a Rune. The light instantly reached millions of feet and swallowed up Su Ming’s and Ye Long’s bodies.

When Su Ming and Ye Long reappeared, they were still on a field and the sect looked the same, but there was a distinct lack of people in the surroundings. The area was silent.

There were ten or so huge chairs in the field, and different figures were sitting on each of them. The chair right in front of Su Ming was occupied by a red-robed man, and he was staring at Su Ming with brightly burning eyes while his chin was propped up against his right hand.

Ye Long sucked in a deep breath. His expression was neither superlicious nor obsequious. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply to the red-robed man in front of him.

“I, Ye Long, greet all sect elders.”

“Why didn’t you bow?”

The red-robed man did not look at Ye Long, but instead stared at Su Ming. He spoke languidly, and his voice held a strange power. When it echoed in the area, the sky to instantly filled with thunderclouds.

Su Ming did not speak. His gaze landed on the red-robed man’s hand, and once he saw the pearl on his palm, he calmly wrapped his fist in his hand and bowed.

The red-robed man cast a profound glance at Su Ming, then suddenly chuckled.

“Ye Long is quite good. I will personally take him as my disciple. As for Wang Tao… Sect Elder Lan, be sure to teach him well. One hundred years, let’s see… who will be the Chosen!”

After the red-robed man spoke, he swung his arm. Immediately, the dark clouds in the sky rumbled. The entire field instantly became blurry.

When a soft sigh spread out, the field disappeared. Su Ming appeared on the previous field. It was empty all around him, besides… an incredibly beautiful woman who had appeared in front of him.

She stared at him, and he also lifted his head to stare at her. At the moment their gazes met, memories flashed through Su Ming’s mind against his will, and it was the same for the woman. After some time, when Su Ming’s mind cleared, surprise appeared in his eyes.

The woman seemed to not want to meet his gaze, however. She turned her head away from him.

She was silent for a moment before seeming to come to a decision. “You have a strange life matrix. I… can’t be your Master either. Come with me, I will find an honorable Master… who is suitable for your life matrix.”