Pursuit of the Truth

“If that’s the case, then it’s not as if we can’t agree to it…”

“After all, One Dao Sect is incredibly powerful, and it’s said they have a Great Dao Paragon. In fact, I even heard that One Dao Sect’s creator… is one of the three Great Dao Gods…”

“The three Great Dao Gods are just a legend. Besides the Emperor of Ancient Zang, no one has seen a second one, but even though it’s just a legend, it’s impossible for it to have sprung out of nowhere.”

“Forget whether there is truly anyone in the ninth level of Dao Divinity Realm, since there is less than thirty people in the whole of Ancient Zang—the seven sects, the twelve clans, and the royal capital—who have reached the eighth level of Dao Divinity Realm!

“Compared to the near sixty seventh level Dao Paragons, Great Dao Paragons are an existence akin to heaven itself!”

“Great Dao Paragon… if the great sect elder of Seven Moons Sect’s first line had not been injured in the past, he might have already become a Great Dao Paragon.”

Su Ming did not speak, but as he listened to the sighs of the sect elders around him, he came to realize that there was no Great Dao Paragons in Seven Moons Sect!

And there were less than thirty Great Dao Paragons in Ancient Zang!

‘Then the blue-robed cultivator in the seventh layer of Sky Beyond the Sky is clearly in the seventh level of Dao Paragon Realm.’

Su Ming was deep in thought, but he knew exactly why the leader of the seven sects would want the disciples of the last two cycles of sixty years.

‘They might… be looking for me!’ A barely noticeable glint shone in Su Ming’s eyes.

“This matter has already exceeded the scope that we as the sect elders can discuss. Great Sect Elder Dao Han, I wonder if you have already made your decision,” Lan Lan said after being silent for a long while.

She was not the only one who thought like that. In truth, all the sect elders were old monsters who had practiced cultivation for many years and were very calculative people. They had intentionally said the words before to affect others. They would not voice out their own true thoughts.

The red-robed man was silent for a moment before a fierce glare shone in his eyes. At the instant the sect elders noticed it, their expressions became stern.

“One Dao Sect has given us the terms for the exchange… No matter what their goal is, it’s not like we can’t do it… but there are two people involved who cause me a bit of trouble.

“One of them is my disciple, Ye Long. He has extraordinary potential. After coming under my tutelage, he will soon become someone outstanding. As for the second… it’s Sect Elder Wang Tao.”

When the red-robed man said those words , most of the elders in the area looked at Su Ming.

In truth, all of them had thought of this problem before, but the matter involved a sect elder, and since Su Ming did not seem like he was sometime kind-hearted, it was only natural that no one said anything about it.

Su Ming remained as composed as ever. His face was very calm, and he did not speak.

“If that is the case, then we cannot relent in this matter. Besides Sect Elder Wang, all other sect elders, I order you to leave the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. Bring your disciples along and guard the thirteen corners of Seven Moons Sect!

“Only call for the members of the same line as you. They might not be sect elders, but they have extraordinary power as well. They can serve to defend our sect.

“Notify the disciples from the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky that they are to patrol our sect. As for those in the first sect… the outer sect will be sealed off!

“I will personally act as garrison and activate the Seven Moons Snow Sect. This is not child’s play. All of you, take care of yourselves! If you run into any danger you cannot fight against outside, immediately hide on the Rune.

“As for… Sect Elder Wang, since there is a possibility that you are the person One Dao Sect seeks… please continue to remain in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. Unless it is absolutely necessary, please do not go out.”

Su Ming was stunned. He lifted his head and cast a deep glance at the red-robed man. In silence, he remembered the person dressed in the sky-blue Daoist robe. That person had decided to take him in as a disciple right after seeing him and given him the status of a sect elder. Then, even after being under One Dao Sect’s pressure… the red-robed man had made the decision to fight.

No matter what their goals were, their actions still made Su Ming slowly get up in silence. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to the red-robed man.

The red-robed man remained calm after seeing it. His expression did not change in the slightest. He only nodded before he shiftd his gaze to the pearl on his palm. He remembered his conversations with the thirteen great sect elders on his trip back to the seventh layer of Sky Beyond the Sky.

“All orders are to be executed immediately!”

The red-robed man stood up while saying that and swung his arm, which broke the seal covering the field they used for the meeting. When the group, including Su Ming, turned into long arcs and flew out, only the red-robed man and the cold, black-robed young man by his side remained.

“Master, I do not understand. It’s highly unlikely that One Dao Sect came for junior brother Ye Long. Chances are high… that they came for Sect Elder Wang.” The young man frowned and looked at the red-robed man.

“I know,” the red-robed man said after staying silent for a while.

“Then why?” the young man asked, feeling rather worried, while looking at his Master. He still remembered that Sect Elder Lan Lan had mentioned that his Master and Wang Tao’s Life Matrices clashed against each other, and the formed showed signs of death.

“This is a decision all the thirteen great sect elders, including me, made together. This person… is the most valuable person in Seven Moons Sect!”

The red-robed man was calm as ever. When he spoke, no one could tell how he felt from his expression.

The young man fell silent. He sighed in his heart, then wrapped his fist in his palm, bowed to the red-robed man, and left respectfully.

Once he was gone, the red-robed man stood alone on the mountain and quietly stared into the distance.

‘Seven Moons Sect can fall, but nothing must happen to him—these are the words of the great sect elder of the first line… He is the key for him and the other great sect elders to become Great Dao Paragons!

‘He is also the key for me to become a Dao Paragon…’ The red-robed man had expectation in his eyes. When he turned around, he disappeared into the hall.

Once the sect elder flew out of the mountain belonging to the thirteenth line, they turned into long arcs and returned to their own mountains in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky to carry out the orders from Great Sect Elder Dao Han.

As for Su Ming, he traveled with Lan Lan and returned to the mountain in the third line. They never spoke to each other. However, when they were about to return to their cave abodes, Lan Lan came to a stop.

“Do you want me to tell a fortune in regards to your survival?”

“I don’t believe in destiny.”

Su Ming turned around and walked to his house on the cliff. When he returned to his real body sitting in the house, he overlapped with his real self.

Lan Lan fell silent. When she turned around, she went back to the palace on the mountain.

Soon after, as all of Seven Moons Sect roared, snow fell down and covered Seven Moons Sect. Then, a sun made of ice appeared above!

Within the icy sun, a figure could be seen. It was the red-robed man. Once he rose with the sun, snow filled with a grim air enveloped Seven Moons Sect.

At the same time, a loud bang shot up from within the first layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. The entire outer sect was instantly encased by ice and snow, sealing the mountain. The Seven Moons Sect in the basin was covered in a layer of snow, without a single hint of what was within being able to be seen.

Soon after, thirteen long arcs flew out from the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. They left the mountains and walked out of the Sky Beyond the Sky, spreading into thirteen directions within Seven Moons Sect. Those thirteen directions were the areas where there were the most cracks in the world.

Similarly, a large number of inner sect disciples ventured out of the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky and started to patrol Seven Moons Sect as if they were preparing for something.

Only Su Ming remained sitting in his house, immersed in fusing with his seven shadows. He could already sense the signs of fusion. With just a little more time, he would be able to fuse his seven shadows together and turn them into his Dao Shadow!

Time passed, but even after bringing out a tight defense for three years, more cracks appeared beyond Seven Moons Sect. On one rainy day in summer, while snow fell in Seven Moons Sect…

A sound that was even louder than the average volume of a thunderclap rang out. As it echoed in the air, countless cracks appeared in the sky beyond Seven Moons Sect, and it looked as if the sky was about to collapse. The cracks immediately formed a huge picture in the sky. It was the outline of a statue!

Needless to say, it was one of the three statues belonging to One Dao Sect. Once its outline appeared, loud bangs came from the ground. As huge ravines rose and fell, it seemed like Seven Moons Sect was surrounded by all the cracks in the world.

At that moment, an ancient voice echoed in the world.

“One…”

The voice only uttered a single word, but astonishing howls came from the ravines. As the howls rose and fell, multiple figures shot out of the cracks.

At first glance, they seemed to have flown out of the ground, but in truth… they had come from the cracks. Those figures had cold expressions on their faces, which gave them a grim and murderous appearance. The moment they showed up, they charged at Seven Moons Sect.

“Dao…”

When the second word came, the sky tumbled about. A dozen figures instantly descended from the crack that formed the outline of the statue. Each of those figures exuded an ancient presence. After they appeared, they charged at Seven Moons Sect!

At the same time, the thirteen sect elders who defended Seven Moons Sect opened their eyes. Their bodies vanished, and when they reappeared, they were in front of the dozen something figures. Booming sounds echoed in the air, and they kept those people back.

Immediately after, the Seven Moons Snow Rune was activated. If anyone looked at all of Seven Moons Sect at that moment, they would find that it looked as if it no longer existed. It was enveloped by a huge layer of ice, snow, and whirlwinds that shot into the clouds. From a distance, it looked like an ice dragon was roaring at the world.

“Sect!”

The voice echoed in the world again. When it said the third word, booming sounds from the air in front of Seven Moons Sect being torn apart rang out, and a huge ravine which was millions of feet long appeared in the air. That ravine looked to have been torn apart by invisible hands. At the instant it was torn, a black wind dragon filled with cracks charged at the ice, snow, and whirlwinds.

“Hand over all the inner sect disciples from the last one hundred years! Or we will fight!”

“If you want to fight, then… we will fight!”

In the whirlwind, a face showed up at that moment, and it belonged… to the red-robed man!