Pursuit of the Truth

The nearly invisible net was shining with a piercing dark light at that moment. It was flashing rapidly while acting like a wall between Su Ming and Chi Yang. Every single time it shone, it weakened the power contained in Su Ming’s finger.

In just a few breaths, the semi-transparent net took away nearly eight-tenths of the power contained in Su Ming’s finger, and derision showed up on Chi Yang’s face. Right then, there were only a few inches between him and Su Ming, but that distance might as well have been the one the separating he sky and the earth.

Bai Lu and Sen Mu did not approach them, but just watched Su Ming coldly. In their eyes, the third prince did possess a strength they had never had before and was indeed the strongest among all Great Dao Paragons. In Ancient Zang, only the ninth level Dao Gods were above him…

But… in Ancient Zang, the emperor’s rule existed. It did not allow Great Dao Paragons to kill each other, which was why… in truth, the threat of death did not exist for Great Dao Paragons.

“With the Emperor of Ancient Zang’s rule around, you won’t be able to kill me,” Chi Yang said flatly while not moving an inch.

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled brilliantly.

“Is that so?”

The moment Su Ming said those words, he lifted his left hand, formed a seal, then pushed down with his right hand. His third eye opened at the center of his brow, and the eight Great Dao Paragons in it instantly let out a powerful black light. It swiftly surrounded Su Ming’s body.

When it spread out, his eight overlapping Great Dao Paragons showed their forms in his third eye. They fused with him, and when they spread out in every direction, they seemed to do so by treating the semi-transparent barrier as the center, and then, the world around Su Ming turned dark.

It looked like… darkness and light had been very clearly divided. The moment the division formed, Su Ming’s power erupted from his body once again.

It surpassed the power contained in his finger just then, and his right index finger… seemed about to phase through the semi-transparent net. When he touched it, a bulge appeared in the net as if Su Ming he was about to touch Chi Yang.

This change immediately caused Sen Mu and Bai Lu’s expressions to change. It was the same for Chi Yang, but despite his pupils shrinking, he still did not move back. He would not allow himself to take even half a step back, because he believed firmly that with the Emperor of Ancient Zang’s rule around, the third prince before him would not have the right to kill him, no matter what.

If he moved back, then he, who practiced the Art of Kismet, would show that he did not believe in the Emperor of Ancient Zang’s rule, and even if it was an instinctive action, it would have some effect on his power.

If he knew this, then Sen Mu and Bai Lu would naturally understand it as well, which was why even though their expressions had changed, they did not close in. That fight… might have seemed between them and Su Ming, but in truth, it was Su Ming fighting against the Emperor of Ancient Zang’s rule.

The black light shining from the eight overlapping Great Dao Paragons caused Sen Mu and Bai Lu to feel slightly oppressed, for some unknown reason.

Bai Lu’s pupils shrank, and dhe stared at Su Ming’s black world before he suddenly spoke. “This black light… After all those who sounded nine Dao Spirit Voices become Great Dao Paragons, they shine in different colors. This is something that is completely different from us, who became Great Dao Paragons even though we never managed to sound nine Dao Spirit Voices.

“We’ve overlooked the third prince’s Great Dao Paragon light just now. Sen Mu, have you ever seen a Great Dao Paragon shine with black light?”

A grave look had long since appeared in Sen Mu’s eyes. The black light around Su Ming had also puzzled him slightly. His bewilderment had not been strong before, but right then, he was rather uneasy.

“Black light… I’ve indeed never seen it before. I remember that Great Dao Paragon Feng Shan’s light is white… Why would black light appear around the third prince’s Great Dao Paragons?”

The moment Sen Mu spoke, an astonishing bang shot up from the spot where the fight was happening. As that sound spread out, Chi Yang’s scornful laughter rang out.

“How are you going to destroy me?” There was a provocative tone in Chi Yang’s voice, along with derision as well as great confidence.

“It is indeed rather troublesome.” When the bulging semi-transparent net was only one inch away from the center of Chi Yang’s brow, Su Ming spoke from his dark world.

“But it’s just a minor trouble. It’s not hard for me to kill you,” Su Ming said flatly and lifted his right foot to step on the air under him. With it, the world immediately roared, and an illusory shadow appeared under his feet.

At first glance, no one could really tell what that illusory shadow was. It was like a tree trunk, and it went charging to the ground under Su Ming with loud booms. Once it landed, the ground cracked as if the trunk wanted to take root. The tree trunk rose upwards, over Su Ming, and in an instant, a huge tree appeared in the black world.

When the existence bearing the appearance of a big tree rose tall in the world, the pupils of Sen Mu and Bai Lu shrank again. Their expressions changed drastically. The incredulity in their eyes surpassed the shock they felt when they noticed Su Ming’s level of cultivation. To them, the appearance of the big tree was even more incredible and unimaginable than Su Ming becoming a Great Dao Paragon.

“This… This is…”

“The ancient Tree of Dao Verification! This is the Tree of Dao Verification, how could this be?!”

“The three layers of that dimension were destroyed, and the Tree of Dao Verification died. Ancient Zang’s palace had notified the entire country about it, so how could the third prince bring it out?!”

“His level of cultivation… his power… Damn it, his power is different from the other Great Dao Paragons because he obtained the Tree of Dao Verification’s power!”

Sen Mu and Bai Lu sucked in sharp breaths because the huge tree that appeared around Su Ming… was the Tree of Dao Verification!

When it manifested around Su Ming, it stood tall in the world. Its roots spread to the depths as if it had long since penetrated far into the ground. Its tree crown lifted the sky as if it wanted to replace it. Moments later, an indescribable presence descended on all of One Dao Sect’s world.

That presence was very strong, and it had a desolate air about it. There was also an ancient air filling the entire area.

Chi Yang stared at the huge Tree of Dao Verification that had suddenly appeared before him in a daze. At that moment, his mind was blank, and the shock of what had happened threw all of his thoughts into a mess.

No matter what, he did not expect himself to be able to see… the astonishing Tree of Dao Verification in One Dao Sect’s world!

The cultivation base in Su Ming’s body had been a serendipity granted to him by Hao Hao. It had existed in him in the body of a tree, and if he hadn’t had the chance to gain an epiphany of the power of the Tree of Dao Verification changing the world while it grew for two thousand years, Su Ming would not have been able to make the Tree of Dao Verification manifest. After all, he only had the body of the tree, while the epiphany allowed him to make its form come into being.

When he had both form and the tree’s body, the appearance of the second Tree of Dao Verification was no longer something surprising.

It was Su Ming’s killing move. It was also why he had chosen to come to One Dao Sect and destroy the sect’s very foundation.

The instant the Tree of Dao Verification appeared in Su Ming’s black world and its desolate presence spread in every direction, power gathered on Su Ming’s right index finger again. Right before Sen Mu and Bai Lu’s eyes, the Tree of Dao Verification… started contorting as if the power that surpassed that of all cultivators in the Tree of Dao Verification was fusing into Su Ming’s right index finger.

Su Ming’s finger then touched the semi-transparent net…

The protrusion on the net reached its breaking point. When the dark light flashed again, the world roared. Right before Chi Yang’s face, the net turned into a blurry mess, and an aloof face appeared on it.

That face belonged to the Emperor of Ancient Zang, and it was the one Su Ming had seen on the imperishable will while in the dimension where the Tree of Dao Verification was. The battle to the death then turned into a clash between the Tree of Dao Verification and the Emperor of Ancient Zang.

If the Emperor of Ancient Zang gained the upper hand, the rule would remain unchanged. Su Ming would remain unable to kill the other Great Dao Paragons while he was a Great Dao Paragon in Ancient Zang as well.

However, if Su Ming’s Tree of Dao Verification gained the upper hand, he would break the rule, and then, from that moment onwards, he would become someone who could ignore the rule in Ancient Zang. He would be able to kill Great Dao Paragons!

Red appeared in Chi Yang’s eyes as he stared fixedly at Su Ming. As a Great Dao Paragon, he believed firmly in his Dao of Kismet and in the Emperor of Ancient Zang’s rule.

At that moment, he lifted his hands and pushed forward swiftly while he let out a low growl.

The instant the Emperor of Ancient Zang’s face crashed against the Tree of Dao Verification Su Ming manifested and mighty pressure swirled around, the world rumbled. All the mountains in One Dao Sect collapsed, and countless cultivators were reduced to ashes because they could not withstand the pressure.

The rumbles became louder, and endless ripples appeared on the Emperor of Ancient Zang’s face, but Su Ming’s Tree of Dao Verification was also reduced to an illusion. At the moment the clash reached its most intense state, a brilliant spark shone in Su Ming’s eyes.

His right hand instantly shot through the face of the Emperor of Ancient Zang formed by the rule and landed directly at the center of Chi Yang’s brow.

It was just a slight tap, but when Su Ming pulled his right hand back, the rumbles in the world reached their loudest. The rule shattered. The Emperor of Ancient Zang’s face contorted and fell apart. While booming sounds shot up, disbelief appeared in Chi Yang’s eyes.

A hole was between his eyebrows. No blood flowed out, but veins popped up on his face. They squirmed about as if countless branches were in them, occupying them. Then, his eyes gradually lost focus.

As if he had lost all his vitality, he plunged to the ground.

The swift change made Sen Mu and Bai Lu’s hearts roar, and a huge storm they had never experienced before rose up in their souls.

“The rule… shattered before him…”

“Black light… Black light has never appeared before among Great Dao Paragons. It symbolizes destruction and that he will be able to ignore Ancient Zang’s rule from now on!”