Pursuit of the Truth

Compared to the inner sect disciples in the second layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the third layer might have also been stunned, but their expressions remained the same. After all, it were just the first and second formations. They might not be able to clear those formations as easily as Su Ming, but they were not difficult for them.

However, the derision that was originally on their faces had mostly disappeared and were replaced by seriousness. Su Ming’s act of clearing the formations just then had stunned them.

Only the people in the fourth layer remained contemptuous.

“That’s nothing. We can do that as well, it’s just that there’s no need for us to do so.”

“It’s clear that he doesn’t have enough confidence, that’s why he’s acting like this to redeem himself!”

“Heh heh, the first three formations are nothing. Once he gets past the fifth formation, only then will the Rune show its true strength. I wonder if he will even have the chance to see it.”

They were not the only ones calm. It was the same for Ye Long. He did not have any sort of changes in expression because of how Su Ming had cleared the first two formations. He had never underestimated Su Ming in the slightest. In his eyes, Su Ming could clear up five formations, and only when it came to the sixth or the seventh that he would certainly experience difficulties.

Everyone’s expressions changed the next instant.

When the Feng Shui compass beneath Su Ming gathered together and became whole, a large number of runic symbols also appeared above him to form an even bigger Feng Shui compass. At the instant the third formation appeared, Su Ming appeared above the second Feng Shui compass. He lifted his foot and placed it down gently.

Booming sounds instantly shook the sky and earth. When they echoed in the air, they drowned out the thunder. The Feng Shui compass under Su Ming’s feet crumbled along with the one beneath it. The brilliant light formed by the two Feng Shui compasses breaking down at the same time… caused the pupils of all the disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky to shrink.

In fact, some of the disciples in the third layer had already stood up. They went to their cliffs and stared at the sky with different expressions from before.

As for the disciples in the second layer, they had already begun making a huge ruckus, and it was even more lively among the outer sect disciples in the first layer. Their voices echoed in the air, many of them cries of surprise.

The collapse of the first and second formations was not enough to prove anything. After all, there was a limit to the power of the Rune’s first and second formations. As long as someone had power that surpassed the limit, they could do what Su Ming had done.

If that limit was categorized into a number, and that number was ten, then if someone had a power level of eleven, they could also make the formation explode. It did not matter if they had eleven or ten thousand, they could make the formations explode. That was why cultivators could not tell just how powerful a cultivator who did such a thing was, but when the formations grew stronger, the limit would continuously increase. The third formation was already ten times the strength of the second formation.

But… Su Ming had still managed to crush it while looking as calm as ever!

Such a thing shocked many people.

But it was destined that the shock brought by that rainy night had only begun. At the instant the cultivators trained their gazes on Su Ming, he opened his mouth, and his words echoed in every direction, reaching the ears of practically every cultivator in the sect.

“Fourth formation.”

Right when his voice appeared, the howls and whistles from the Rune grew piercing, and the two collapsed Feng Shui compasses formed by runic symbols instantly gathered together under his feet.

When the runic symbols rotated, waves of even stronger mighty pressure spread out. It felt like the descent of the might of heaven, as if an invisible hand had appeared from the air to seize Su Ming.

His expression remained the same, however. Nothing about him changed. The moment he called for the fourth formation, he lifted his right foot and placed it down. Booming sounds echoed in the world, and as the Feng Shui compass under his feet shattered, the second Feng Shui compass under it also did not last.

It looked as if it was not the fourth formation, but still the first formation. This brought shock to all the people watching, but before their discussions and shocked gasps could travel far, Su Ming rose up again.

His robes fluttered, and his purple hair seemed messy while it danced in the air. Behind him, thunder rumbled. As lightning intersected with each other, it illuminated his body, making him an incredibly clear sight to the crowd.

“Fifth formation!”

His words instantly caused the thunder to become background noise. Lightning had to avoid him, and rain froze. The third Feng Shui compass appeared under Su Ming’s feet, and the two Feng Shui compasses that had crumbled gathered together once more.

The three Feng Shui compasses floated in the air, and Su Ming was above them. During that moment, he was the center of everyone’s attention. In the distance, Ye Long’s face turned a little pale. He fixed his stare on Su Ming, because he had not expected that Su Ming could so easily… clear four formations in one go!

It was not hard for him to imagine Su Ming clearing four formations, but he would have never guessed… that he could do it so easily. It almost felt like all the things that had happened to him during the eight years had just turned into a joke.

Ye Long remembered the challenges he had issued over the eight years. Right then, it felt as if it was just a mockery.

At that moment, the other cultivators in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky no longer had mocking looks on their faces. Instead, they paid full attention to Su Ming. They no longer said anything to the people from the third line either, because they had been shocked by the ease with which Su Ming cleared the formations.

Most of the people from the third layer were standing on cliffs and staring at Su Ming. As for the second layer, the cliffs there were filled with practically every single person from the second layer. And they were even more packed in the first layer of Sky Beyond the sky.

“It’s just the first four formations. Let’s see whether he’ll be able to do things with such ease in the fifth and sixth formations!”

“Yes, all of us have already cleared more than seven formations, and it’s especially so for eldest senior brother Fei Feng from the first line. He is the strongest in this generation. He has already cleared nineteen formations!”

“Besides senior brother Fei Feng, senior brother Chen Tao from the second line has also cleared seventeen formations!”

“That’s right, there’s also senior sister Yue Yan from the third line. I remember that she has already cleared sixteen formations. There are also some others who have cleared more than ten formations. This Wang Tao… is still going to be just a joke.”

“Hmph, look at the thirteenth mountain. The disciples managing the thirteenth line have all cleared more than thirteen formations!”

As the disciples from the fourth layer discussed among themselves, the three Feng Shui compasses gathered together again, and Su Ming lowered his head to cast a glance at the one beneath his feet. A surprised glint appeared for the first time in his eyes.

‘This Feng Shui compass… The more I look at it, the more it resembles Xuan Zang’s Feng Shui compass…’

Su Ming’s eyes shone. He could sense that the three Feng Shui compasses were exuding an increasingly stronger mighty pressure as they continued rotating, but despite it being far stronger than before, it could still not affect Su Ming.

However, as Su Ming looked at the compasses, he had a vague feeling that their rotations had a pattern.

‘Dao Divinity Shadow Descension Rune. Since this Rune has such a name, then it is definitely related to the Seven Lives Art…’

Su Ming pondered it for a little while. He did not immediately make the Feng Shui compasses crumble like he did previously, but began to observe them closely.

His eyes suddenly shrank. He could see that… there seemed to be two shadows on the two Feng Shui compasses starting from the bottom. The two shadows were of him!

‘The level of this Rune is still too low, I can’t see too many changes…’

A brilliant light shone in Su Ming’s eyes as he was deep in thought. Then, he no longer took a step forward. Instead, he swung his arm. With it, the world roared, and the Feng Shui compass underneath him trembled. As the people in the area cried out in surprise, the Feng Shui compass crumbled again, and the two beneath it also started shattered.

“Sixth formation!”

Su Ming lifted his head. A sparkle, one that showed when he was deducing something, shone in his eyes. When he opened his mouth to speak again, the three Feng Shui compasses manifested under him once more, and Su Ming lifted his right hand and swung it again.

Loud booming sounds shot up, shocking the hearts of all the cultivators beyond the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. There were even quite a number of Seven Moons Sect disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky who had their previous assumptions shaken at that moment.

“This is… Could this be the signs of him wanting to clear the tenth formation?!”

“Could it be… Could it be that we can see another person clear the tenth formation today? In Seven Moons Sect, only one person can clear the tenth formation every ten years or so. Could it be that this Wang Tao wants to clear the tenth formation?!”

“It’s impossible. His level of cultivation will not allow him to do so. Even for us, the tenth formation poses quite a challenge. There might be a number of us who have cleared it, but besides the senior brothers and sisters who have cleared up to the thirteenth formation, not one of us can be absolutely certain to be able to clear it again!”

“That’s right, this is too absurd. He has only joined the sect for a few years. It’s not so easy to gain the epiphany for the tenth formation!”

While the disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were discussing among themselves, Ye Long’s face had turned stark pale, and he looked as if he was using all his strength to not fall back. He stared at Su Ming blankly, and anguish gradually appeared on his face.

He had come to finally understand what was going on. For the past eight years, Su Ming had not been avoiding him. Instead, he had simply deemed the challenge beneath him. Right then, there was a high possibility that Su Ming had been annoyed by Ye Long’s continuous bothering and chose to make a move only because of that.

‘Over the past eight years, I have just been a joke in his eyes… I can’t accept this! I can’t!’ Strong fighting spirit appeared in Ye Long’s eyes. However, even he did not know that his fighting spirit was fake and just created by himself. It was a weak existence…

“The seventh formation… He still hasn’t cleared the seventh formation yet.” When Ye Long murmured those words, he looked at Su Ming once more.

Three Feng Shui compasses gathered together under Su Ming, and above him, the fourth Feng Shui compass swiftly appeared. It was so big that it looked like a plains. At that moment, it levitated above Su Ming and rotated together with the three Feng Shui compasses beneath it.

As they did so, Su Ming lifted his head to look at them. The light of understanding gradually appeared in his eyes. While the people in the area watched and waited, he smiled.

“So that’s how it is! Then, I might as well have the eighth and ninth formations appear together!”

While saying that, Su Ming lifted his right hand and swung his arm. This time, the Feng Shui compasses did not crumble. Instead, more runic symbols appeared above the fourth Feng Shui compass to form… the fifth Feng Shui compass!