Pursuit of the Truth

“This is a change of heart,” Su Ming said softly while closing his eyes. His voice was slightly hoarse, as if there was a ball of invisible fire scorching it.

He did not move and simply allowed Zi Ruo to straddle him. No matter how she begged for his touches, Su Ming did not move. He could lift his hand and push her away with the slight alertness remaining in his mind, but he did not do so.

His clothes were still fully on his person. When he closed his eyes, he chose not to continue meditating, but to direct his gaze into his body and his heart.

He could sense that under the effects of the poisonous aphrodisiac, his body had become incredibly sensitive. He had become completely different from before. His emotions became much more easily affected, and he was no longer calm.

Yet the more this was so, the more Su Ming tried to keep his heart calm. It was just like how he had sat on a cliff when he tried to search for the method to calm his heart while in the ninth summit all those years ago. At that time, he had sat like that for nearly a month.

Back then, Su Ming needed to create his own method to clear his mind and gain an epiphany of what changes of the heart meant, and right then, he was doing the same thing. He still sat in the same manner and still tried to gain an epiphany.

However, the things that had disturbed his state of mind at that time were the winds in the mountain and the confusion in his own heart, and right then… what disturbed him was the poisonous aphrodisiac and Zi Ruo, who was moaning and panting against his side.

Su Ming’s mind gradually turned blank. He no longer paid any attention to the things around him and dedicated his full attention to watching his heart and soul. He saw how his mind occasionally looked like a raging tidal wave, and how at other times it looked like flames surging into the sky. Sometimes, it would be as calm as still water too.

As it changed, Su Ming gained an epiphany of his change of heart and his mind went through a metamorphosis while he tried… to gain an understanding of the Dao that he could not put into words but which he had glimpsed before.

Dao had to be refined by the vices of the external world, just like how the heart had to be disturbed by external causes to trigger the changes of the heart. If a person could not control themselves, they would find themselves forever stuck.

If they could get through them, their heart and soul would go through a metamorphosis until the person reached a state where they could no longer be affected by the affairs of the world.

With the hint of alertness in his heart, Su Ming could originally push Zi Ruo away, but he did not. Since there were evils in the world around him and a problem had occurred, then with his personality… he would just let the problem come. He would have it disturb his heart, and during that time, he would refine himself. He would look at the sky while he was in the abyss… and welcome a new life while the flames of lust burned him.

‘I will stare at light from the darkness. I do not long for light to come to me… My only desire is to become a black hue that even darkness cannot turn darker!

‘I don’t like light. In the past, I could not see the light of day and could not see the darkness of night. It was as if the heavens had placed a veil before my eyes. If that’s the case, then I don’t want to live under the sun. I wish to become… the source of darkness in the universe amid the shadows.

‘When I am under the sun, I will chase away the light. When I am in the shadows of night, I will make night fade away, because I am… the only darkness under the heavens, in the galaxy, and in the entire universe!

‘This is me… Su Ming!

‘My life is one of Possessing others. My life is one that other people cannot hope to replicate. My life… is one that pursues the darkness!

‘I can kill countless people. I can destroy all lives in the universe. I can turn day into night, and I can make darkness descend on the earth, but in my heart, there will always be a spot of light left for my family, my friends, and my beloved…’

Su Ming’s heart seemed to have found the direction of his metamorphosis as the quiet thoughts echoed in his mind, causing the raging sea to calm, the surging flames to fade, and an unruly ripple to appear in his heart, which was as still as dead water.

‘Who was it that said that only light can be magnificent? Who was it that said that only saints can be noble? In the darkness, I can turn the moon into the sun, and I can also turn light into darkness!’

Su Ming’s heart had never been as calm as it was right then. He opened his eyes. He no longer kept them closed so that he would not look at the alluring Zi Ruo, because having his eyes shut was a form of running away. Only the weak and those who did not dare to face the temptation would be afraid of having their hearts perturbed and would keep their eyes closed.

‘I want to open my eyes and take a look at the world others cannot see. With that determination, I will face this change of heart. I want… to open my eyes and take a look at the evil that caused this disturbance in my heart!’

Su Ming stared at Zi Ruo before him. He watched her curvaceous body clinging to him while she panted and moved her hips, begging for his attention, but his expression remained aloof. It was like the darkness of night. If the now pink-skinned Zi Ruo was light, then it was a fight between light and darkness.

In the fight, Su Ming did not move. His heart did not tremble. Nothing about him moved. He only watched everything before him, and his heart gradually became calmer. The poisonous aphrodisiac in him seemed to be unable to find blood that it could boil and could only wither away. When it lost all of its energy, it assimilated into Su Ming’s body.

Su Ming did not consider whether he wanted to engage in activities that only bonded cultivators shared with Zi Ruo. What he cared about was that he would not allow himself to be controlled by the poisonous aphrodisiac, and he would absolutely not allow the little fox to gain the initiative.

The fog around him gradually spread out. It looked like before long, it would completely disappear. Su Ming remained sitting in the tunnel while he watched Zi Ruo before him. His expression was calm, and not a single hint of lust could be seen in it. The red in his eyes had long since faded away, and his breathing had grown calm. As his heart went through the metamorphosis and his emotions calmed down, he transcended a personal barrier.

A pair of unseen eyes saw all of it. Their gaze seemed to have fused with the air and come to exist everywhere. If the owner of the gaze wanted to see something, they could even look into the flesh tunnel. There was no truth that they were unable to witness.

The eyes noticed Su Ming’s calm and a presence that even their owner found fierce. That presence was only a feeling that came from Su Ming’s conviction towards the darkness.

Old Man Extermination was the owner of that gaze. At that moment, he was meditating on the hidden ancient ship near the gap in space in the fourth universe.

Those eyes belonged to him!

Su Ming lifted his head and cast a calm glance at the air above him. During that instant, for the first time ever, Old Man Extermination’s heart trembled, because he felt… as if the had met gazes with Su Ming through space.

At the instant their eyes met, Old Man Extermination shuddered. The hidden ancient ship trembled because of him, and distortions appeared around it. In the end, the ship showed up beside the gap in space in the butterfly’s wing.

“Su Ming, what a man. As expected of the strongest of this aeon… and perhaps even the strongest since the history of Harmonious Morus Alba Expanse Cosmos.”

Old Man Extermination’s body also showed up when the ship distorted.

‘Change of heart. This Art began with Tian Xie Zi, and it was written in destiny that he was to be the strongest of this aeon, but due to my interference, Tian Xie Zie’s change of heart failed… But I didn’t expect that his disciples would succeed one after another, up to this Su Ming…

‘His change of heart actually caused something in him to grow, something that brings me fear… This presence, damn it. This presence reminds me of that terrifying Xuan Zang!’

Old Man Extermination’s pupils shrank, which was a rare sight to be seen, but he did not avert his gaze. He kept staring into space, his gaze locked on Su Ming who was in the flesh tunnel.

And Su Ming did not lower his head either. He simply looked at the air.

Old Man Extermination was silent for a long while before he spoke again. “As expected… of a person that belongs to a race of the man who joined my bloodline, which I later modified and led!”

After he spoke, a loud bang shot up before him. It shook the sky and earth, and resounded very prominently in the constantly rumbling galaxy. A dark figure showed up at that moment.

It was a black-robed man. His clothes as well as the air he gave off were exactly the same as those of the three black-robed men who had previously been there.

The person had appeared with a loud bang. At the instant he showed up, he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to Old Man Extermination.

“He is a descendant of yours. In fact, based on your position among your people, he would even have to address you as his Progenitor… Since he is here, go and meet him. I want… a drop of his blood,” Old Man Extermination said faintly.

The black-robed man did not say a single word. He wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply again. When he lifted his head, only the light in his eyes, born from conviction and zealousness that almost resembled foolish loyalty could be seen on his face, which was hidden under a black hood.

He turned around, and another loud bang shot up. The black-robed man disappeared without a trace.

Old Man Extermination gradually closed his eyes. As he did so, the ancient ship he sat upon faded away until not a single hint of it could be found.

It was also during that moment that Su Ming averted his eyes. He lowered his head and looked at Zi Ruo again, but her image was not reflected in his pupils.

“Old Man Extermination, huh? I wonder what stage you belong to in Avacaniya Realm. If you have truly absorbed the presence and power of more than one butterfly before they died, then is the current you… equivalent to a complete Harmonious Morus Alba?” Su Ming wondered faintly, his words echoing in the tunnel.

While he went through his change of heart, there were three black-robed men traveling into Saint Defier’s camp. Each of them summoned a large number of clones, and when they charged forward, they gradually took Su Ming’s form, and with murderous intent as well as aloofness, they rushed into each Expanse Cosmos to bring forth massacre upon massacre.

Due to them taking Su Ming’s appearance, an unimaginable resentment became directed at Su Ming. One day… it might have a terrifying eruption.

The three black-robed men’s appearances were identical to that of You Ming. Their faces were hidden by black hoods, making their features impossible to see. However, there were different aspects about them.

One of them was clearly a big and built man. He had a domineering and aggressive air about him. Another one of them appeared rather thin and lean, and his presence constantly changed. The last one… had an arrogant air that could not be chased away no matter what.