Pursuit of the Truth

Under the gazes of all the people, Su Ming continued sucking the vast life force from Bei Bang, and with the power provided by it, he repaired his cultivation base.

Time slowly trickled by. The life force coming to him was still as vast as ever and did not end. An Almighty in Life Realm had practically endless life force. This was also the reason why Bei Bang had spoken in an arrogant manner before.

Yet slowly but surely, a change appeared on Bei Bang’s face. He had a strong feeling that Su Ming was like a bottomless pit. His own life force might be nearly endless, but it seemed that Su Ming’s absorption of his life force was also nearly endless.

An hour later, Bei Bang’s expression had changed drastically. He had a feeling that his life force could not catch up to the rate of Su Ming’s absorption. A feeling of shock that came from the depths of his heart spread through his body. Su Ming was indeed a bottomless pit that could absorb an endless amount of life force.

If that was all, Bei Bang would not have been bothered. He could break off the connection at any time he wanted, but when he wanted to do it, he discovered to his shock that the connection had changed. This was no longer him giving his life force and Dao Kong absorbing it, but had instead turned into… him being forced to deliver the precise amount of life force Dao Kong wanted to absorb.

This was a change between the dominant and subservient positions between them. It might have seemed simple and like it was the same, but it determined the person who had the right to break the connection. The decision was no longer in Bei Bang’s hands.

‘This… How can this be?! The Rune in this place wasn’t designed like this! I don’t see any signs of anyone changing the structure of the Rune either! Besides, it’s impossible for anyone to be able to change the Rune in such a short period of time.’

Bei Bang’s expression changed drastically. As his pupils shrank, a sense of danger filled him.

He could not break off the connection to the lotus platform. The life force in his body was being sucked away without stop, and once it fused with the platform, it was absorbed by Su Ming.

The bald crane was making a ruckus in its smug voice in Su Ming’s mind at that moment.

“I’m great, right? Heh heh, the idiot actually dared to fuse his body with the Rune. I know that confidence stems from his life force being nearly endless, which is why he was not afraid of other people absorbing it.

“But this idiot is really unlucky, because he ran into me, this Grandpa Crane. I just needed to move my fingers, and the structure of this Rune was changed. The idiot went from the state of willingly fusing with the Rune to the Rune forcing him to fuse with it, from being able to control the Rune, to becoming its servant.

“Little Boy Su, absorb him, absorb at will! Each breath is one crystal, and I’ll provide it to you limitlessly.” The bald crane’s smug, excited, and enthusiastic voice was brimming with an air of bliss that only it could understand.

When another hour passed, Bei Bang’s face had already turned pale. He stared at Su Ming with the shock on his face having turned into anguish. How could he still not understand what was going on at that moment? This was Su Ming taking revenge on him for his previous words and actions.

‘What a man… He’s one that would definitely take revenge even for the smallest grievance…’

Bei Bang sighed in his heart and closed his eyes. He no longer thought about anything else and just circulated his cultivation base in an attempt to struggle free from the Rune, but the moment he did so, the threatening presence from the distance instantly locked on him again.

The time it takes for one incense stick to burn passed, and Su Ming opened his eyes. By then, Bei Bang’s expression was incredibly pale.

Su Ming dissipated the suction force from the Rune on his own accord and stood up.

“Thank you for healing me, Senior Bei Bang.”

When he said that calmly, Bei Bang remained silent for a moment before he nodded.

“There is no longer any need to continue. The challenges for the Anointment Ceremony have ended. We will now enter the trial component. The… nine of you are to receive your trials in Dao Ocean located beneath us.

“There are those who are lost from Morning Dao Sect’s path within and outside Dao Ocean. Among them, there are powerful enemies of Morning Dao Sect, traitors, as well as those who were punished to sink into Dao Ocean. Once they lost themselves, they became cultivators without their path.

“They can be powerful and weak, and your trials are related to these lost souls.

“Kill ten lost souls, and you will obtain the right to go through the trial. Once you do so, you can activate the trial in Dao Ocean at any moment you want. Based on your achievements, you will be randomly placed into different trial grounds.

“This trial is something that has never happened before. To all of you, this is also a serendipitous event… because this trial is also related to the Immortals’ Union. Over the course of one thousand something years, we have fought over one thousand battles against the Immortals’ Union, be it small or large battles. Among them were hundreds of small-scale battles, nearly one hundred large-scale battles, and seven super large-scale battles.

“They have been recorded in detail, and a place similar to an illusory land has been created by imitating them. Based on all the different qualifications you all have, you will be sent into continuous battles. When you are there, you are to guide the direction of the battle and change the trend of the fighting. This is your trial.

“Remember this. Even though you cannot be killed in these illusions, all of your actions will be observed by the people here, and they will be taken into consideration for the final result.

“You must also remember that you will not enter these illusions with your own faces, but will change into a normal cultivator from our sect.

“However, you will retain your levels of cultivation. You will be able to use it at will and do whatever you please!”

As Bei Bang’s voice echoed in the air, he swung his arm, and a vortex about ten thousand feet big appeared in the air in the middle of the nine continents on the first plane.

At the instant the vortex showed up, roars came from within it. The audience could vaguely see a large number of dark shadows inside, but the moment they touched the vortex, they screamed in pain and tumbled back.

The vortex was connected to the periphery of Dao Ocean, and the shadows were the lost souls there. They wanted to rush out, but had never been able to since the moment they had entered.

“If there are any among you who are terrified, you can give up on the trial. Those who do will immediately have their rights as Dynasts stripped off. Think carefully. In the process of gaining the qualification for the trial… you might die!”

When Bei Bang said those words, he cast his gaze over the eight Dynasts. Su Ming was ignored straight away.

Besides him, some of the eight Dynasts showed hesitation. If Su Ming had not revealed his power and the person who had returned from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence did not bring back such shocking news, they would have definitely not hesitated to go through the trial.

Yet now, before the competition between the Dynasts had even started, it had already ended. They knew that unless an accident happened, there would be no way for them to compete with Su Ming. Because of it, this trial was completely useless to them, and there was even the threat of death lurking in it.

In silence, four of the eight Dynasts chose to give up. They took a few steps back, and with pale faces, not only did they give up on the right for the trial, they also gave up on the right to be Dynasts.

Among the remaining four, Dao Lin roared in his heart. The humiliation he had suffered caused his eyes to turn bloodshot, and he became the first to rush into the vortex. Once he disappeared, the other three also gritted their teeth. They turned into long arcs that charged into the vortex.

Su Ming was the last one. His injuries had mostly recovered by then. With a calm expression, he took a step forward, and drew the gazes of the ten million cultivators in the area on himself. Then, he stepped into the vortex.

Only when Su Ming disappeared did the ten million cultivators in the area let out a shocked cry. It was born from the words the person who had returned from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, but which had been suppressed by Su Ming’s presence.

“True Sacred Yin World will definitely not let this slide! Is the war between Morning Dao and Sacred Yin about to start?!”

“We have the Immortals’ Union in True Morning Dao World, and we’ve also offended True Sacred Yin World. Dynast Dao Kong… truly did something unwise.”

The discussions echoed in the air. The tanned old man’s sullen expression and Bei Bang’s quiet sighs made it obvious that the Anointment Ceremony was slowly deviating from its original course.

…..

Dao Ocean was located at the lowest part of Morning Dao Sect. It was a forbidden land which was divided into two parts—the outer and inner layer. The inner part was sealed all year long. Only the outer part would be opened during special moments. Besides that period of time, all the living were forbidden from entering.

But if there was anyone who truly wanted to enter the place, it was not impossible for them. However, since ancient times, there had never been a case of anyone surviving after they had entered the place of their own accord. Perhaps that was not the case and someone had survived, but this sort of thing was just too rare in Morning Dao Sect.

Dao Ocean’s mysteries stemmed from the legend speaking of it existing even before Dao Chen.

It was called an ocean because people could hear the sound of waves when they were there, but when they cast their gazes over it, they found the area to be filled with thick fog. It made the people unable to see the entire place clearly. In fact, even their divine senses would be suppressed.

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled. The instant he stepped into the vortex, he appeared in a place shrouded in fog. When he swept his gaze across the area, Bei Bang’s words echoed in his head.

The trial was divided into two parts. The first part was to obtain the qualifications, and the second part was the key of the trial.

The beginning should not be very difficult, but due to the strangeness of Dao Ocean, life-threatening dangers could appear at any time.

“I’ll be able to obtain the right if I kill ten lost souls, huh? If I can really step into one of the battlefields from the past one thousand something years, then I would want to go to the one where the one-hundred-thousand-foot tall giant appeared, or when that black-robed person appeared and severely wounded Progenitor Tai Shan.”

Su Ming remained as composed as ever. With one move, he disappeared into the fog and began moving through the area.

After charging forward for a bit, he suddenly let out a cold harrumph. A withered right hand had appeared behind him without a single sound and charged at his heart. That arm was pitch black, and black smoke surrounded its fingertips. It contained the power of those who were nearly at the later stage of World Plane Realm.

At the instant it came towards Su Ming, he did not move forward to escape, but instead moved back. He lifted his right hand and seized the air behind him. With a bang, he grabbed the incoming arm, and with one fling, he yanked a withered person from the fog.

With a flick of his right hand, a powerful surge of his cultivation base was sent into the person’s body, and that person was immediately torn to shreds.

“One.”

Su Ming took a step forward and disappeared into the fog.