Pursuit of the Truth

Every person has a secret, and every living soul has secrets, which all those who are not of the same species do not know. If no one told a person, they would never learn of them.

Su Ming had his secrets. Dijiu Mo Sha had his secrets. The Abyss Dragon had its secrets, and the bald crane, too, had its own secrets.

Right then, the mountain of stars turned into one of its many secrets.

When Su Ming walked off the mountain and they slowly left into the distant galaxy, the bald crane turned its head around to look at the mountain. It stared at the summit, and its tears seemed to have seeped through its wound-ridden heart to fall on some unknown place.

“Is it worth it..?” the bald crane whispered softly. This was something that rarely came out of its mouth. It did not add in any of its usual adjectives nor called itself ‘Grandpa Crane’.

It left into the distance. The mountain of stars was left behind, and the memories… were left behind, too.

When Su Ming turned his head around, he did not see the bald crane’s tears. He only saw that the bald crane still seemed to be simple-minded, comical, and loved money as much as its own life.

It was just like how no one could see the tears of fish, because they lived in water. No one could differentiate what was water, and what was their salty tears.

“Bald crane, why does it feel as if there’s something off about you?” the big yellow dog that was the Abyss Dragon asked in a low whisper.

“How could anything be off about this Grandpa Crane? I was just thinking. Say, do you think there is a crystal mine in that mountain of stars?” The bald crane turned its head around and looked towards that mountain of stars once more. The Abyss Dragon did not see the hint of grief and absent-mindedness on its face when it did so.

…..

Another month went by. They moved past the star ocean, went around the mountain of stars, and what was revealed in front of Su Ming’s eyes was a boundless desert, which was the same as the mountain of stars. It floated in the galaxy, looking like a large piece of land.

That desert was formed from dust, which came from shattered planets and stones that had crumbled apart. All that dust had been gathered together by some sort of force and formed a desert whose end could not be seen.

Moaning wind blew past the desert, lifting sand off the ground. It also stirred up sandstorms. Wherever it went, countless sand dragons would tumble about and roar, forming a ghastly sight.

“Once we pass this shattered desert, we will be able to see my tribe. Relatively speaking, this is also… the most dangerous part of our journey. After the Great Destruction, the God of Sand Earthlings cast a great divine ability before he fell asleep and sent it sweeping through the periphery of Divine Essence Star Ocean to gather all the dust after the planets had shattered.

“That action of his created this desert of dust. It acts as a natural barrier and a place for Sand Earthlings to rest and grow, since all of them are male and they are spirits that are born from sand.

“Most Sand Earthlings are short. They do not possess much offensive abilities and do not have any power. They are very weak… but if a race can survive in Divine Essence Star Ocean, then they’re not that simple. If there is something about them that is incredibly weak, then there is also something about them that is incredibly strong.

“Sand Earthlings can raise Malicious Sand Spirits, who are powerful ferocious beasts from ancient times. They are extremely tall and large, and usually lie in the desert, which makes it hard to distinguish them from the sand. But when they wake up, they become the kings of the desert.

Dijiu Mo Sha turned his head around and cast Su Ming a glance, then looked at the Abyss Dragon and the bald crane, and said cautiously, “Sand Earthlings don’t raise too many of these ancient, powerful beasts, but each of them… is exceptionally powerful. We will need half a month to pass through this desert. During this time, it’ll be best for us not to bother Sand Earthlings.”

Once Su Ming nodded to show his understanding, Dijiu Mo Sha sucked in a deep breath and stepped into the desert. Then, with his full speed, he charged forward, and Su Ming followed behind him. As he passed through the place, he looked at the desert around him. The main color here was brown, with seldom any yellow. Neither was there a lot of black.

The color made it seem as if the sand had been dyed in blood, which had dried up in time. A primitive and savage air surrounded the place.

The moaning wind lifted the sand and sent it sweeping into the distance, causing the area to look hazy. It was incredibly easy for people to lose their way here, especially since divine sense was limited in this place.

But Dijiu Mo Sha clearly had a way to know the direction. Perhaps he was worried that Su Ming would misunderstand him or perhaps it was because his speed was not on par with his companions, but when he moved, he always maintained a set amount of distance between them.

Time trickled by. When the sixth day arrived, they had already stepped into the depths of the desert. Wherever they looked, there was only sand, and all they could hear was the moaning wind as well as sand moving about.

Dijiu Mo Sha let out a sigh of relief and turned his head around to whisper to Su Ming, “So far, so good. We should not run into any accidents in this trip, since no Sand Earthlings have blocked our path. Honestly, as long as we don’t provoke them and avoid breaking their taboo, we should be safe.”

“Taboo?” A focused glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes.

“Yes, Sand Earthlings are very unique because they don’t have any females among them. All their people are spirits born from sand, which is why they treat this region of sand as their race’s mother.

“Hence, they only have one taboo. They will not allow any female living beings to step into the place. They believe that this is a form of blasphemy.

“If any female living creature stepped into this place, they would be captured and buried here so that they would become part of their race’s mother, but this has nothing to do with us…” Dijiu Mo Sha said in a relaxed tone, but just when he did so, the ground underneath them started trembling.

These tremors made it seem as if there was a huge dragon tumbling about below the ground. There was also a rumbling that sounded like roars coming from all directions. At the same time, Su Ming saw the windstorm from the desert roar behind them. It swelled up, and a hand that was thousands of feet big pushed out from within a puffed-up sand bump.

It was a hand formed from sand. Soon, another hand appeared, and then, a giant of several tens of thousands of feet stood up from the ground.

When it hoisted up its simple and heavy body, a large amount of sand fell down. Windstorms rose up and circled around the area. They formed an armor and a cloak for the giant. The spirit had no eyes, only a mouth, and when it opened it, sand fell from its upper lip like rain pouring down from the sky. A loud rumble echoed in all directions.

“Gruuu!”

The giant lifted its head and roared. It did not even look at Su Ming and the others, but instead took large strides to charge in the direction from which the group had come. With each step it took, the ground would tremble. After a moment, Su Ming saw another giant climbing up from the ground farther away. As it roared, it let out a loud rumble.

“Malicious Sand Spirit!” Dijiu Mo Sha’s expression changed, and he instinctively took a few steps back, but when he saw the giant leaving into the distance, he relaxed. “I wonder who provoked the Sand Earthlings in this desert…” He shook his head and looked towards Su Ming. At that moment, he noticed that Su Ming had a crease between his brows.

A sound like that of a whistle rose abruptly from the ground. This sound rose and fell, and there were also piercing screeches echoing alongside it. Thankfully, they could tell that all the noise was heading swiftly into the distance.

“A female has entered the desert!” Dijiu Mo Sha’s eyes focused swiftly. “That’s definitely the case, or else the whistles from the Sand Earthlings would not be sounded out, and they would not head forward either. If this was just a normal provocation, they would not appear.”

Su Ming sighed and rubbed the center of his brows.

“Where does your tribe lie?” Su Ming looked towards Dijiu Mo Sha.

“If you go straight from here for around ten days, you’ll be able to leave this desert. From there, you will see a broken planet, and that planet is where my tribe is located,” Dijiu Mo Sha explained in detail.

When Su Ming heard this, he lifted his right hand and pushed it downwards at the ground. Immediately, the sand below sank down, showing signs that it was burning and melting. The outline of a runic symbol was formed.

Then, as Su Ming swung his arm, the sand around him swam about and covered the runic symbol.

“This is…” Dijiu Mo Sha was momentarily stunned.

“I will leave for a while. Wait for me in your tribe. In a month’s time at most, I will come there,” Su Ming said faintly, then turned his head around to look at the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon.

The bald crane had the same train of thought as Su Ming, and naturally understood his intentions. With a single move, it rushed towards Su Ming and was put into his storage. As for the Abyss Dragon, even though it was not willing, it did not refuse being put into the storage bag as well. Once Su Ming did this, a stern look appeared on his face, and a freezing glare shone in his eyes.

Before it could fade away, he took a step in the direction from which they had come, and he was so quick that he shot forward like a bolt of lightning, stirring up sand and slicing through the air. It was as if the void had clashed with those that possessed corporeal form, and sharp, piercing sounds rose from that clash.

Before Dijiu Mo Sha could even say anything Su Ming had already left into the distance. A focused glint appeared in the thin man’s eyes, and he looked pensive. He hesitated for a moment, then turned around and left in the direction of his tribe.

He might not be able to guess what the man wanted to do, but it had to be related to the abnormal reaction from the Sand Earthlings. With his level of cultivation, it was difficult for the thin man to participate in this, so there was no need for him to follow Su Ming. Bringing the other to his tribe could already be considered as repaying him for saving his life, and from then onwards, they would no longer have anything to do with each other.

In a place far away from Su Ming was the edge of the desert. At that moment, the sand was tumbling about, and rumbling sounds were echoing in the air, as if the ground had turned into an ocean. Sharp whistles resounded in the air.

Xu Hui’s expression was one of determination, and there was a murderous look in her long and narrow eyes. She was looking at the area around her with a cold smile on her lips. Dressed in red robes, she was an incredibly distinct presence in the desert. She was like a multiflora rose in bloom that showed off a tempting beauty.

She did not retreat. Instead, with a single move, she charged into the deeper parts of the desert. The rumbling sounds in the area grew even stronger. After a moment, as the ground trembled violently, Xu Hui saw a giant tens of thousands of feet tall roaring and charging towards her from the distance.

Before it could even come close, it lifted its right hand and drew it swiftly upwards. Immediately, the sand before it roared and tumbled about to stir up a whirlwind of sand. As it whistled, it swept through the sky and closed in on Xu Hui within an instant.