Pursuit of the Truth

The core of the inner part of Divine Essence Star Ocean was quiet. From the distance, the place looked empty, but there was dazzling light spilling out in all directions, filling the place with an unequalled beauty.

Rarely would cultivators come here, or rather, there were very few cultivators who could manage to come to this place. Even for Su Ming and Xu Hui, if they did not have Ninth Tribe’s map, it would have been very difficult to arrive here.

As for Xuan Shang and his group, they had also only reached this region after going through plenty of hardships. They had prepared for this for thousands of years, yet they had still been reduced to the current four from their initial seven.

“Based on the incomplete map I have with me, if we move forward for a month, we will reach Dust Burners’ territory. That’s why we should make some preparations here.” Xuan Shang looked at Su Ming.

“Xuan Family’s supreme treasure can contain several people within it, and it can change its external appearance at will. With the Paragon Crane’s transformations, there will not be a single flaw in our presence and external appearance.”

As Xuan Shang spoke, he raised his right hand, placed his finger in his mouth, and bit down on it. Immediately, blood seeped out, and Xuan Shang formed a seal with his right hand. After a moment, he pushed his hand forward. The blood on his fingertip started changing rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it turned gold.

The now gold blood flew out and shone with a golden light in front of the group, then swiftly expanded to the size of a fist.

“My fellow Daoists and two seniors, please offer up your fresh blood so that my family’s supreme treasure can remember your presence. With it, it will accommodate all of you in it. There is no danger in this, and while I might not dare to call myself an honest and forthright person, I am definitely not a despicable person either, so you don’t have to worry,” Xuan Shang said in a low voice.

Nian Yin was the first to bite his fingertip and fling out his blood. It charged at the gold blood and came into contact with it, fusing with it in the blink of an eye. Immediately, the black blood looked as if it was boiling and swelled up again. This time, it swelled up to the size of a head. It was still gold inside, and it could be clearly seen that a faint golden light had appeared around Nian Yin’s body, as if there was some form of connection between him and the ball of blood.

It was the same for Xuan Shang.

Yun You hesitated for a moment before he gritted his teeth and bit his fingertip. Then, he too offered up his blood. After a moment, the golden blood became bigger once more, and the golden light also appeared around Yun You.

Hua Yu was the last among the four to offer up his blood. His blood was different from the others. There was a hint of blue within red, making it seem as if it was nearly purple. When his blood fused into the golden ball, it immediately started tumbling about furiously. Once it swelled up to the size of an average man’s height, it stopped growing.

“Seniors, please!” Xuan Shang looked towards Su Ming and Xu Hui.

“I’ll do it first.”

Xu Hui smiled. Right before Su Ming, she swung her hand, and the blood from her fingertip fused into the golden ball. She was already in Lunar Kalpa Realm, so the moment her blood touched the golden ball of blood, it started to boil with an unprecedented intensity.

This scene caused Xuan Shang and his group to focus their attention on the ball, but they were not too surprised by it. Clearly, the levels of cultivation from the people offering their blood would determine the size of the ball of blood.

The golden ball swelled up rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it grew to become one hundred something feet tall from its previous height of an average man. It floated in front of the group with golden light shining from it, causing all the people beside Su Ming to look as if they were wearing a golden cloak.

Xu Hui closed her eyes. After a moment, when she opened them, she looked towards Su Ming. “This is a form of acknowledgment. Once your blood fuses with it, you will obtain the supreme treasure’s protection. There is no problem with it.”

Su Ming stared at the ball of blood which had now grown to one hundred something feet. After remaining silent for some time, he bit his fingertip and offered up his own blood. This was the blood of his cultivation base clone, but that blood contained the presences of his clone that practiced the Art of Swallowing Hollow Shadows Whole and his Ecang Clone. His blood might have seemed incredibly normal, but the instant it appeared, the golden ball that was one hundred something feet started shuddering fiercely.

It was not doing so due to excitement. All the people in the area could sense that it was shuddering from fear. This stunned Xuan Shang and the other four.

Su Ming swung his blood forward and had it rush into the golden ball. The golden ball immediately moved back, but as if it was sentient and attracted to it, Su Ming’s blood increased its speed, and before the group could react, it touched the golden ball.

A shrill scream of pain tumbled out of Xuan Shang’s lips, and Yun You, Nian Yin, and Hua Yu followed suit. Even Xu Hui’s face instantly turned pale, and pain appeared on her face.

At that instant, they felt a powerful impact coming from their souls. This was a form of decentralization from the golden ball of blood once it sensed danger.

Xuan Shang’s face turned pale, and he immediately asked in a piercing voice, “Senior, what are you doing?!”

Su Ming frowned. He not done anything, only delivered his blood. He did not think that the golden ball of blood would react this way. The moment his blood fused into the golden ball, a powerful rejection came from inside it.

This form of rejection was due to the golden ball of blood trying its hardest to push out Su Ming’s blood, but as if there was an incredibly powerful devouring ability within Su Ming’s blood, the more the golden ball of blood rejected it, the more it seeped into the core.

“I didn’t do anything. This supreme treasure of yours refuses to have my blood fuse into it,” Su Ming said faintly. He could sense something from it. This was connected to his inborn ability as an Abyss Builder, so even a drop of his blood contained a powerful Possessive power.

Also, this was probably connected to his Ecang clone as well. After all, if even a Sublime Paragon of True Sacred Yin World might not be able to be on par with Ecang in terms of status as a lifeform, then it would be even more so for an Enchanted Treasure he created.

Xuan Shang’s expression changed continuously. His family had used this supreme treasure many times, but they had never run into something like this before. He gritted his teeth. From what he could sense from the treasure, he could tell that what Su Ming said was true. It was indeed the supreme treasure rejecting him, and in a very powerful manner.

“Damn it…” Xuan Shang immediately used a unique Mind Art to control the supreme treasure so that it would not reject Su Ming but would absorb his blood.

Even a supreme treasure was still an Enchanted Treasure. As long as they were treasures, then even if they possessed spirits, they would still have masters. That was why Xuan Family’s supreme treasure gradually stopped rejecting Su Ming’s blood and fiercely fighting against the Possessive power contained in it, but allowed them to fuse together.

When they did so, a powerful roar erupted in Xuan Shang’s ears and echoed in Xu Hui’s heart. The golden ball of blood expanded at that moment. In the blink of an eye, it turned several thousands of feet all, and its color… changed from gold to black!

The dark shade was similar to the galaxy’s color, as if they could fuse together and disappear. Xuan Shang’s face was pale, and there was disbelief as well as incomprehension on his face. The Xuan Family had used this supreme treasure many times, but this was the first time its color had been changed to a shade of black.

For some unknown reason, at the instant he looked over, a sinister feeling that spread with no end entered his heart It was the exact same feeling he got when he saw Su Ming the first time.

Compared to the other ‘s stupefaction and astonishment, Xuan Shang’s heart let out a loud thump. After all, this was Xuan Family’s Enchanted Treasure, so his understanding towards this treasure was incredibly deep, and he knew clearly that the color of the blood would determine who would own the ball of blood after it accommodated them. He was originally confident that even if it was Su Ming and Xu Hui, they would assimilate with the supreme treasure. They might not be controlled by him, but they could only provide power, and the core person who would determine how the supreme treasure would transform would be him.

However, the moment the golden blood turned black, even though he could still sense the connection of blood between him and the treasure, he had a feeling as if his own belongings had decided to listen to another person’s commands.

In anguish, his gaze when he looked towards Su Ming contained an even deeper wariness and fear compared to the past.

Su Ming looked at the black ball of blood, then after a period of silence, he smiled.

“Me too!”

When the bald crane saw the other people doing things, it immediately shouted loudly to prevent them from casting it aside and making it lose its chance to obtain crystals. It was illusory body, but no one except Su Ming knew about this. Without even batting an eyelid, the bald crane bit the tip of its wing, and blood flew out to fuse into the ball of blood before it disappeared without a trace.

It might have seemed like fusion, but all of this was fake.

There was a connection between the bald crane and Su Ming’s souls, which was why even if it did not offer up its blood, the effect would still be the same.

“I think I understand the basic principles of this supreme treasure, but I will still need your help with it, fellow Daoist Xuan.” Su Ming looked towards Xuan Shang.

Xuan Shang smiled wryly. This feeling of having his control snatched from his hands in the open caused him to be unable to find a way to resolve his frustrations even if he was feeling indignant.

“Please use your hands to touch the ball of blood. It will suck you in, and then the ball will transform.” Xuan Shang put away his gloomy feelings. Since this was the road he’d chosen, he could only continue treading it.

Once he finished speaking, he became the first to walk next to the ball of blood. He pressed his right hand on it, and immediately fused into it. Then, Yun You, Hua Yu, and Nian Yin did the same. Xu Hui turned her head around to look at Su Ming, then with a gentle expression, she too fused into the ball of blood.

The last were the bald crane and Su Ming. As for the Abyss Dragon, Su Ming had already put it away. Su Ming also sent away the Void Beast to wait for his call.

When Su Ming fused into the black ball of blood, he sensed that his body was enveloped by liquid. A strange connection rose swiftly in his heart. He could sense Xuan Shang and his group’s presences as well as that Xu Hui was right by his side. He could also sense that all of their power would gather together with just a single thought from him, and that power would be shown outside.

In fact, they only needed to communicate with divine thoughts for all of them to know what the others were thinking.

If Su Ming was to compare this black ball of blood to a single person’s body, then at that moment, he and the others were six different souls within that one body.