Pursuit of the Truth

The second layer of Old Man Extermination’s tomb was earth. The land there was the same as the ever-changing sky, which meant there were different terrains. There were mountains, plains, canyons, rivers, lakes, and oceans. All sorts of terrain could be seen, making people feel as if they could see the entire world when they looked over.

The volcanoes in the distance erupted. When lava flowed out, black fog spread through the area. The spot in which Su Ming descended was where one of the volcanoes had erupted.

He did not bother about it however. He pushed his right hand towards the ground, and the spirits charged to the ground with a howl and turned into a whirlwind. As they spun rapidly, they touched the ground like an awl. It caused the ground to tremble, and cracks instantly appeared on it.

Su Ming did not need to know how to enter the next layer. He would use his own method to break through all barriers. There were only a few people who could do this in the world, and Su Ming was strong enough to be one of them.

As the strongest of the his aeon, he had learned many secrets, and while Su Ming was lost as to where his future led, he did not have an ounce of respect towards Old Man Extermination. Instead, he was overflowing with fighting spirit.

At that moment, the ground trembled, and cracks swiftly spread out. Loud booming sounds came up from the ground. Su Ming stood on the volcano. At the moment he appeared, the volcano’s eruptions ceased, as if Su Ming’s appearance had caused the volcano to no longer dare erupt.

In fact, the countless ferocious beasts living in the second layer started trembling and hiding at that moment. They no longer dared to show even a single bit of their presence. Su Ming’s descent and brought about an incredibly mighty pressure on these creatures, causing all of them to sense the shadow of death looming over them.

In just the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, a loud bang shook the sky. As the ground trembled, a huge gap appeared in it. The next moment, a great presence spread out from inside it, and when Su Ming sensed that presence, his eyes shrank swiftly.

The presence brought with it a will that strongly suggested that it did not belong to Harmonious Morus Alba. It was all over the place, and if Su Ming had not seen it before when he returned to the past once he cast his divine ability, it would have been difficult for him to tell that this presence… belonged to the vast and boundless universe beyond Harmonious Morus Alba.

Su Ming stared at the gap. After mulling over his thoughts for a while, he stepped into it, and when he reappeared, he was already in the so-called third layer of Old Man Extermination’s tomb.

Almost at the same time Su Ming stepped in, Zi Ruo gritted her teeth and moved into the gap as well.

It was the third layer of Old Man Extermination’s tomb, and it was also the final layer. It was where the Relocation Rune was located. Everything around there was indistinct, and it seemed as if no end to it could be seen. The indistinctiveness gave Su Ming an incredibly familiar feeling. It was incredibly similar to the Vast Expanse he had seen when he cast the divine ability of time.

However, there were also differences. Harmonious Morris Alba’s presence was also in this vast space, which was why it was not truly a vast expanse of emptiness. Clearly, it was a connecting point linking both universes together.

This caused Su Ming to remember the murals he saw in the damaged hall when time reversed while he was in the Viridian Gods’ Expanse Cosmos. The Viridian God in the past had also stepped into the Old Man Extermination’s tomb and was Relocated when he in the third layer. He personally saw gap in space and Old Man Extermination coming through it from beyond the universe.

‘If that is the case, then this so-called Old Man Extermination’s tomb should have appeared before the Old Man Extermination arrived, so why… did Zi Ruo say that the tomb was built for Old Man Extermination.

‘And there are four of them…’

Su Ming frowned and looked at Zi Ruo, who followed behind him. The woman had come with him all the way, but did not show any unusual signs. Even if she was familiar with this place, with how Su Ming had broken through the two layers, he did not need someone to lead him.

He thought that Zi Ruo was slightly slow-witted, but in truth, this woman was incredibly clever. When she saw Su Ming’s gaze, she immediately knew what he was thinking and that she had not shown her abilities along the way. If this continued, then Su Ming would not allow her to follow him any longer.

‘If I want to push him down, I must let him know my abilities first.’

Zi Ruo did not wait for Su Ming to speak. With a sparkle in her eyes, she lifted her hand, formed a seal, and pointed forward. With it, an image of a fox appeared behind her. It had white fur, and the instant it appeared, it lifted its head and howled at the sky.

As it howled, a white thread appeared in front of Zi Ruo. It twisted and spread out to quickly turn into a circle. While the white fox continued howling, its tail instantly split into two, then three, four, five…

When nine tails were behind the white fox, nine threads also appeared in front of Zi Ruo. They intersected with each other and stretched out to form a Rune.

Immediately after, the Rune shrank to turn into a white ball of thread the size of a fist. Nine rays of white light shot out from within it. They spread through the area, and after a moment, when the light disappeared, the white ball of thread swelled up, and in the blink of an eye, it grew to be several dozens of feet big.

Su Ming watched the Rune appear and grow larger while absorbed in thought. The white threads that formed the Rune seemed to be part of the laws in the place. Zi Ruo’s divine ability allowed the user to extract the laws of the place no matter where they were, which gave it some mysterious aspects.

“This is the divine ability we of the Heavenly Foxes are born with. Senior, please have a look.”

Zi Ruo’s face was slightly pale. Clearly, executing her divine ability in that place was not easy for her. As she spoke, she lifted her hand and pointed at the Rune formed by the white threads.

With it, the Rune that was several dozens of feet big immediately shuddered. When it twisted again, it turned into a picture that almost looked like it had solid form. The edges around the picture were its borders, and there was a ball of white spots in the middle. Around that ball was a layer of fog.

It was not a Rune. It was clearly the structural plan of the third layer of the tomb!

The Heavenly Fox’s divine ability could allow them to make any place reveal their layout to them, and Zi Ruo was pointing at the white spot at the center of the structural plan.

The moment she did so, the structural plan was immediately enlarged. As it continued growing, the white spot at the center showed them that it… was a Rune.

“This is it,” Su Ming suddenly said.

Zi Ruo nodded. She lifted her hand and pointed at the enlarged Rune at the center. Immediately, Su Ming noticed that a Relocation power appeared around them. It instantly spread out, and with a loud bang, it devoured Su Ming and Zi Ruo’s figures.

When Su Ming appeared again, there was an ancient and old Rune under his feet. Zi Ruo was beside him. Her face had become even paler. It could be said that she was completely in control of the third layer. She had first cast her people’s divine ability and drew a simulation of the structural plan. Then, she had Relocated Su Ming where he wanted to be. This sort of Art that allowed its user to Relocate to any place they wanted in any Expanse Cosmos was something that even Su Ming did not see often.

He nodded towards Zi Ruo, and once a hint of admiration appeared on his face, he lowered his head to observe the old Rune beneath his feet. He did not know that once Zi Ruo noticed the admiration on his face, her spirits was immediately lifted.

That feeling was similar to eating a medicinal core that would provide her with great supplements. Zi Ruo’s heart filled with excitement, as if obtaining Su Ming’s admiration was the first step to success.

‘Sooner or later, I will definitely push you down!’ Zi Ruo swore in her heart while clenching her fists. She had already sworn this oath in her heart plenty of times during the journey, and it allowed her determination to grow stronger.

When Zi Ruo saw that Su Ming was observing the Rune beneath his feet, she cast a glance at it before she spoke gently. “This is a long-distance Relocation Rune. It should have been around for at least tens of thousands of years.”

“You know about Runes?” Su Ming lifted his head and cast a glance at Zi Ruo.

“Just a bit.” Zi Ruo might have said those words, but there was a hint of confidence on her face, causing Su Ming to think that while this woman was slightly slow in the head, she had some aspects about her that were adorable.

“Tell me about it.”

Su Ming looked at Zi Ruo. He would willingly admit that he did not know much about Runes, and his knowledge could never compare to that of Hu Zi. The woman before him also seemed confident, as if she was certain of her knowledge.

“There are plenty of categories to Runes. Relocation Runes are a rather unique type, but no matter what sort of Relocation Rune they are, their only use is to Relocate.” When Zi Ruo spoke of Runes, the confident look that appeared on her face caused her beauty to increase by several times.

“Since it is for Relocation, unless there is no fixed destination, there is definitely another point connected to this place. When the two points are connected together, they will form a path.

“These Runes are split into one-way or two-way Relocations. We can tell based on the structure of the Rune, no matter how complicated they are. They are only complicated to hide the direction of the Relocation and whether it allows a two-way Relocation.

“Look at this Rune. It might be old and complicated, but in truth, based on the loops, we can tell that this is a two-way Relocation Rune! Look at the structure of the Rune. The person who set it up in the past had unwittingly exposed what the Rune was for by trying to cover the truth with lots of complicated and unnecessary patterns. In truth… the distance of the Relocation should be… Huh?”

Zi Ruo spoke while observing the Rune, then she suddenly came to a halt.

The more Zi Ruo observed the Rune, the more she frowned. She then began to mumble under her breath. “This is an Interface Rune! This Relocation Rune will send the person to another world. This is… strange. This world doesn’t belong to Dark Dawn, Saint Defier, or Arid Triad…”

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. “Activate the Rune. When we are Relocated, we will know where it leads to.”

Zi Ruo nodded. With Su Ming beside her, even if they did run into any danger, she was confident that he could resolve it.

She immediately lifted her right hand, and the nine-tailed white fox appeared behind her. When she pushed her right hand on the Rune, the nine-tailed white fox turned into nine rays of white light that instantly fused into it.

The Rune rumbled. Powerful light instantly filled the air, covering up Su Ming and Zi Ruo’s figures. After a moment, when the light grew dimmer and everything returned to normal, the Rune remained in place, but Su Ming and Zi Ruo, who were originally standing inside it, were already gone.

…..

“Has he arrived?”

A low murmur could be heard from the hidden ancient ship near the gap leading to the Vast Expanse beyond.