Pursuit of the Truth

Su Ming’s movement immediately caused the area to fall into instant silence. All gazes were gathered on him and followed him as he entered the platform, but he did not pay any attention to being the center of attention of ten million cultivators.

What he wanted to do was to let all those people see how he would amaze them. He wanted to be arrogant, to intimidate all of them. When Su Ming was in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, he had risen to power from being weak. So when he returned to True Morning Dao World, there was no way he would allow himself to continue to be humiliated like he was in the past.

Before, Su Ming had been observing the fourth Striking Lands. While scrutinizing it, he found some vague clues. When he moved forward and stepped onto the platform, he immediately sensed a freezing chill that was completely different from the area outside.

That chill did not spread out from the air and neither did it come from the platform beneath his feet. Instead, it was created by the laws of that land. It was as if the laws had made it so that the place had to be cold, and hence, it was compulsory for the place to be cold.

“Challenger, who are you?!” a cold and indifferent voice asked from the gigantic pillar of light.

The next moment, ripples appeared near the platform which was surrounded by the dragon-like beasts and a vague existence with black wings came to being. It was dressed in a black robe.

Its eyes were closed and it looked like it was sealed in the pillar of light. That man was precisely the one who had changed the laws in the land and was the source of all the chill in the land.

“Dao Kong,” Su Ming answered faintly.

“There are two paths in Nadir Grotto. One of them is where those who fail will definitely not die. If you pass through all nine stages, you will be considered to have cleared this Striking Land. The second path is where you will certainly die if you fail. You will also clear this Striking Land if you clear all nine stages there.

“Tell me your choice.” The freezing voice was loud, but those in the area outside could not hear it.

“What’s the difference?” Su Ming asked in a languid manner while frowning.

“The difference is whether you want to die or live.” There was a mighty pressure in the icy cold voice, bringing with it an air of those who regarded themselves superior to all others.

The words might have been cold, and the arrogance exuding by their speaker was incredibly clear. When Su Ming heard his speech, a brilliant light shone in his eyes, and he started laughing.

“I choose the second path,” he said faintly.

The figure which seemed to be sealed in the pillar of light opened its eyes swiftly. At the instant a brilliant light shone in them, all the dragon-like beasts surrounding that pillar of light roared together and descended. Dark light shone on them before they swiftly fused together to form one single figure.

That figure had a body covered in black feathers and had a pair of wings like those of a bat. Red light shone in his eyes, and he looked exactly like the figure sealed in the pillar of light.

“With each three breaths, you will be considered to have cleared a stage. If you last for more than thirty breaths, you will have cleared the fourth Striking Lands. In the ten thousand years since the rankings were reset, only one person has cleared the fourth Striking Lands, and he chose the first path.”

Red light shone in the eyes of the person with black feathers, and there was a ghastly chill to his voice. As he spoke, he moved forward, and a piercing black light erupted from his body.

That black light seemed to be able to devour all sources of light. At the instant it appeared, it caused Su Ming to feel as if he had been stabbed by countless needles. In fact, it was difficult for him to even open his eyes due to the piercing light.

Wisps of freezing air also spread out from it and seeped into all of his pores as if it wanted to manifest into ice on his skin.

With a loud bang, Su Ming fell backwards and staggered a few steps. When he lifted his head, a loud whooshing sound reached his ears. What he saw was a layer of black light. Immediately, the feeling as if his whole body was suffering from sharp stabs of pain, ice was on his skin, and the sensation of growing heavier rose within him once again.

The booming sounds rose again. Su Ming moved back until he was forced to the edge of the platform. When he coughed up a mouthful of black blood, the cold voice spoke again.

“Three breaths, you passed the first stage.”

Su Ming lifted his head, and during that instant, the black light let out a whooshing sound again as it erupted from the person with black feathers.

The black light looked as if it covered the sky and the whole world, causing everything that Su Ming could see to be replaced by it. He found it difficult to even move. His body felt as if there were ten thousand needles pierced into it. In fact, even breathing was painful. The moment he exhaled, cracking sounds could be heard, as if ice had formed on his face.

When the people outside the platform saw it, looks of pity immediately appeared on their faces. There were also those who delighted in Su Ming’s misfortune. As discussions echoed in the air, Bei Bang shook his head. The three Sect Masters behind him did not say anything, but the tanned old man was smiling coldly.

The dozen something divine senses were starting to show signs of getting ready to scatter away.

“He will only be able to last for at most four stages, then he will definitely fail!”

“That’s right, by the looks of it, four stages will be his limit. This Light of Extreme Darkness is known as one of the five-colored divine lights. It might not be complete, but it’s definitely not something that a normal person can withstand.”

“I thought another Dao Xuan Yi would appear. This Dao Kong might have quite the grand presence, but he is only worth this much when a real challenge presents itself.”

“Haha, Dao Xuan Yi is known as the strongest person among all generations over the last ten thousand years in Morning Dao Sect. If it was not because he gave up on being an Dynast of his own accord and focused on his training, there is no way he would not be one of the Dynasts.”

As the dozen something divine senses spoke among themselves and were about to disperse, their conversation stopped abruptly. The signs of dispersing were also immediately gone. All of the divine senses focused on the platform at once.

They were not the only ones. At that moment, the discussions among the ten million people in the area also fell instantly silent. All their gazes landed on the platform, and even Bei Bang and the other three looked over.

When Su Ming saw that the world had turned black on the platform, a cold sneer appeared on his lips. It might be difficult for him to move his body, and the ice over his body might also seem to have sealed his cultivation base, but he could still speak.

“That’s all? Rockslide Art!”

The instant Su Ming’s words tumbled out of his lips, booming sounds sliced through the air. Gigantic meteors appeared out of nowhere in the air above him. They were traveling so fast that when Su Ming finished speaking, they had already descended on the platform.

Loud booms shook the sky and earth. The sound of the dozens of gigantic meteors crashing against the platform shook the ground. In fact, it caused even the fourth continent to tremble.

As the meteors landed, the black light in front of Su Ming distorted. A voice tinted with shock came from the darkness before him.

“Rockslide Art! You actually learned that Art?!”

As the stones fell and booming sounds rose, Su Ming wiped away the blood at the corners of his lips, then cast a cold glance at the person with black feathers. A strange and enchanting light gradually appeared on his face, and a crimson shade tainted his hair.

He licked his lips, and blood veins appeared in the whites of his eyes. As they intersected with each other, red light shone from them.

“I choose the third path.”

Su Ming’s voice had become hoarse. After speaking, he took a swift step forward. When he lifted his right hand, he struck the center of his brows. Immediately, he disappeared from the line of sight of the person with black feathers and turned into a huge planet. That planet moved and became a blood-red heart.

As it started beating with loud thumps, the expression of the person with black feathers changed, and black light immediately appeared around his body. It swept out in all directions to fight against the signs of collapse that were stirred up by the beating of the heart.

“Star Illusion Art!” a low voice said.

During that moment, a crack formed at the center of the blood-red heart, instantly causing the person with black feathers to feel as if his soul was about to be devoured. It lasted for only the span of a few breaths before that person with black feathers let out a loud bang, and his body crumbled to pieces. Black threads from its soul was devoured by the blood-red heart before it shone with a red light and turned back into Su Ming.

His hair had turned completely red. Crimson light shone in his eyes, and there was an indescribable malice and strangeness within them, along with madness.

As Su Ming laughed madly, he took a step forward without any hesitation. He charged towards the pillar of light where the real body of the person with black feathers resided. There was a glint in his eyes that shone with surprise, but there was still a cold sneer on his lips.

However, at that moment, Su Ming seized the air with his right hand, and the Life Inequity Spear appeared in his hand. Once he held it and leaped up, golden light expanded to an area of one hundred thousand feet.

With a loud bang, the tip of Su Ming’s Life Inequity Spear crashed into the pillar of light. At the same time, the power of cutting fate spread out. The ripples formed by it crashed against the pillar. Some of them shot inside, and in it was the power that assured absolute accuracy of Su Ming’s God Slayer Art. It ignored the pillar of light and sent forth the second wave of attack at the person with black feathers.

Booming sounds rose again, and the third attack from God Slayer Art—the rebound—also shot out, causing the pillar of light to let out a buzz. As countless tremors shook it, even the expression of the person with black feathers changed.

“Rockslide Art, Star Illusion Art, God Slayer Art… You actually learned all of them?!”

“And… Mountain Shifter!”

A red light shone in Su Ming’s eyes. He lifted his left hand and formed a seal before he pointed into the distance. Immediately, the fourth continent trembled. The tremors then surpassed all that the fourth continent had experienced previously. Under the shocked and flabbergasted expressions of the ten million people outside, a mountain in the distance trembled and lifted off the ground…

But no one would not have been shocked if only one was affected. As the sounds of people sucking in sharp breaths echoed in the air, the many mountains of the fourth continent all rose into the air one after another. The ground let out shocking booms, and nearly one thousand mountains appeared in the sky, forming countless inverted images!

When this scene was witnessed by the crowd, it was enough for the hearts of all people to tremble and the dozen something divine senses to be shocked. Even the pupils of Bei Bang constricted, for he could feel the terrifying power residing in those mountains.