Pursuit of the Truth

At the instant the path appeared, the four old men beside the second prince took a step forward, turned into four long arcs, and charged towards the four white dogs beside Su Ming.

The four white dogs possessed the presence belonging to Dao Paragons. When Su Ming slaughtered his way into the platform, he had long since been noticed by the four old men. When they drew close, the eyes of the four white dogs shone with a fierce glare. They too charged out.

Booming sounds surged into the sky. They were the loud, intense sounds created by the fight between the four white dogs and the four Dao Paragons.

At the same time, the second prince lifted his chin slightly. There was a slight hint of arrogance on his face, and he put the helmet in his hand to the side. With a swing of his arm, he turned into a long yellow arc that charged towards Su Ming.

Su Ming’s expression was calm. He cast a cold glance at the incoming second prince. Since the start to the end, he never said a single word, but at that moment, when he lifted his right hand, the Space Whip immediately caused the world to change, as if countless stars had filled the space around him. Once all those stars connected with one another, they turned into the shadow of a whip whose one end was in the sky, and the other end was in Su Ming’s right hand.

The Feng Shui compass manifested under Su Ming’s feet as well. He took a step forward, and he was so fast that he instantly crashed into the second prince in the empty space formed after the tens of thousands of people scattered outwards.

The second prince formed a seal with his right hand and pointed forward. A dragon’s roar immediately came from behind him, and it sounded incredibly astonishing. The air distorted, and a huge yellow dragon appeared with a roar that could make the world tremble. It phased through the second prince’s body and appeared in front of him to swallow Su Ming.

Su Ming brought his right hand up and swung his arm. The world immediately rumbled. The Space Whip shone before it cracked down on the yellow dragon. The moment the yellow dragon roared, the shadow of the whip swept it up.

When Su Ming swung his arm, the yellow dragon that charged towards him was forced to change its direction. It went charging past him on the right, and from a distance, it looked like Su Ming had shot past the yellow dragon to lift his left hand and punch the second prince.

Booming sounds instantly shook the sky, and the second prince’s robes fluttered. In the face of Su Ming’s punch coming towards him, he brought his right hand up and responded with a punch of his own.

The two of them had hundreds of feet between them. Their punches both landed in the air, but both brought forth a loud bang that was deafening to the ears.

As the loud bang echoed in the air, an impact swept out in every direction. It landed on Su Ming, forcing him back hundreds of feet, and it also landed on the second prince, making him take a dozen steps backwards.

“As expected of my younger brother… you are worthy of me bringing out my true power!”

The second prince’s eyes shone. When he moved back, he brought his right hand up and seized the air behind him. The helmet immediately flew to him. Once the second prince caught it, he put it over his head. At the instant he wore the helmet, a shrill and ferocious roar tumbled out of his mouth.

At the same time the roar appeared, the second prince’s body grew. His robes were torn, and he was reduced to a bloody mess, but he grew to be one hundred feet tall. When he let out another shocking roar, banging sounds came from his body, and he grew from one hundred feet tall to three hundred feet tall. His robes had long since disappeared to reveal green skin, and a black set of armor had appeared on his huge body!

The armor was astonishing to behold. It covered most of his body, and when it was matched with the helmet, it caused all the people who saw the second prince to feel as if they were looking at an ancient evil deity.

Once the three hundred something feet tall second prince let out a roar, powerful waves spread out in the world. They landed like violent gusts on Su Ming, blowing against him and causing his robes and hair to dance. A dark light lit up in Su Ming’s eyes.

At that moment, the second prince took a huge stride and charged towards Su Ming. When he drew closer, he lifted his right hand and seized the air in the direction of the sky. A huge long spear appeared out of thin air. He held it in his hand and threw it at Su Ming.

A huge crack was torn open, and it looked like the long spear had been the one to do it. When it drew close to Su Ming, the third eye at the center of his brow opened. All four of his Dao Spirits opened their eyes, and Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. Once he lifted his right hand, a very ordinary looking axe appeared on his palm.

That axe was the one that Su Ming had used every single day to chop wood at the old man’s place. When he left, the old man had gifted him the axe.

While standing in his spot, Su Ming lifted the axe. At that moment, there was only a dull look in his eyes, as if there was no life in them. Neither the second prince’s reflection nor the long spear with the monstrous killing intent could be found in his eyes. There was… only a log of wood!

The moment the long spear drew close to Su Ming and caused his robes and hair to flutter while charging straight at his chest, Su Ming lifted his axe-wielding right hand and brought it down slowly. The downwards swing of his axe was alike the millions of times he had practiced. It was as if the long spear was just a log of wood before his eyes and he could cut it in half.

When the axe was brought down, the entire world seemed to have frozen. Even everyone’s breathing and gazes seemed to have been made still. Only the axe’s trajectory as it was brought down touched the long spear. The spear was cut in half right before Su Ming, and its two halves instantly rushed past his sides.

The next moment, the second prince appeared right in front of Su Ming. He lifted his right hand, and when he brought it down, he straightened his palm and tried to push his hand flat against Su Ming’s head, but it collided against Su Ming’s lifted right hand.

The entire world seemed to have returned to its previous mobile state then. As sounds of breathing could be heard in the air, all the people’s gazes gathered on Su Ming and the second prince.

The two of them stood next to each other. One of them was tall, and the other short. One of them had his right hand pressing down, and the other had his right hand pushing up. Their palms had come into contact with each other.

When their gazes met, Su Ming appeared as calm as ever, and the second prince did not say a single word either.

After several breaths passed, a glint appeared in the second prince’s eyes.

“Our fight seems to have benefitted our eldest brother. This is not good…”

As he spoke, the second prince lifted his hand and took three steps backwards. With each step he took, his body shrank. Once he took all three steps back, he was no longer three hundred something feet tall, but had returned to his previous size and was dressed in the yellow robe. He took off the helmet, then looked at Su Ming with a smile.

Su Ming did not speak. He only stared at the second prince before him while paying special attention to his right eye.

“Should I call you second prince… or Di Tian?” Su Ming asked faintly.

The moment he spoke, the vortex in the second prince’s right eye was torn apart and revealed a vague figure. However, right when it appeared, it was enveloped in the vortex once more.

The second prince smiled faintly, but he did not say anything.

When Su Ming took a step towards the sky, the four white dogs fell back from the fight to turn into long arcs that went after their master. Right before the eyes of the tens of thousands of cultivators on the stone platform in the seventh echelon, they charged into the air above them.

When Su Ming disappeared, the second prince shuddered, and blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth. The smile on his face was no longer around, but instead, a dark look showed up in its place. He brought up his right hand slowly, revealing that a large portion of the skin there had withered away…

“As expected of my youngest brother, once most beloved by our Lord Father…” the second prince said softly. When he turned around, he walked into the distance. Once he sat down cross-legged, he closed his eyes and began meditating.

“But the battle of Arts between us has just started. We will meet again in the ninth echelon.”

Su Ming charged forward, and with the four white dogs, he instantly reached the eighth echelon. The entire process only lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. When he saw the incredibly huge platform in the distant sky, Su Ming also saw… a large tree trunk at the center of it!

The trunk was about one million feet thick, causing all those who saw it at first glance to be shocked by the gigantic tree. The trunk was rather withered, and when anyone lifted their heads to look, they would not be able to see the end of the tree. It was as if everything they could possibly see in their field of vision was just the tree’s trunk.

This was the Tree of Dao Verification, which was born in the eighth echelon, and whose trunk extended straight into the ninth echelon, located at the end of the sky.

Right then, Gu Tai sat under the tree, and right across from him was the meditating eldest prince. In another direction was an old woman. She was also sitting cross-legged.

There were tens of thousands of cultivators surrounding the area, and they were made up of the people from the three sects. At that moment, they were all seated and none of them moved.

Su Ming’s arrival did not cause the cultivators to show any sort of changes. It was as if they did not see him. However, when Su Ming’s gaze landed on the eldest prince, his pupils shrank slightly. He was not looking at the eldest prince, but the old man with the white hair levitating above him. The eldest prince’s body was a mere illusion. Wisps of white smoke caused the top of his skull and the eldest prince’s to be connected together.

As for the old woman, Su Ming found the second prince’s presence on her. It came from a helmet that was exactly the same as the one used by the second prince.

The helmet was held in the old woman’s hand. Together with Gu Tai and the eldest prince, they formed a tripartite balance of forces.

“Gu Tai, we cannot tell who will win in the fight for the entry to the third layer,” an ancient voice said faintly from the illusory old man levitating above the eldest prince. “You are indeed the best here in terms of level of cultivation. Even if I am a Great Dao Paragon, I still cannot help being suppressed by this place.

“However… Fellow Daoist Ye Luo has the armor formed by the scalp of the Evil Deity, and it can neutralize the mighty pressure in this place. Because of it… it’ll be impossible for Seven Moons Sect to be the first to step into the third layer.”

When the old man’s voice echoed in the air, the old woman opened her eyes and looked at Gu Tai.

Su Ming approached the area slowly and stopped behind Gu Tai. Then, he looked at the old man and old woman with a chilly gaze.

“Why don’t we refrain from interfering with the matter of who will be the first to enter the third layer? How about we just let the three princes fight for the right on their own?” the old woman asked hoarsely.

Gu Tai then opened his eyes slowly to reveal a hint of fatigue.