Pursuit of the Truth

What Exactly Is Spirit?

Zi Che might have been confused by Su Ming’s words, but he still obeyed. He watched with bewilderment appeared in his eyes how Su Ming walked out of his cave and turned into a long arc before flying off the mountain.

‘The wooden slip looked ordinary and there was nothing special about it, so why did uncle master Su change his mind so quickly after he saw it? Could it be that the small wooden slip had something even more valuable than the golden stone coin, the God of Berserkers Transformation, and even Freezing Sky Sword?’

Zi Che simply could not understand it.

This was the first time Su Ming left the ninth summit ever since he battled against Si Ma Xin. To him, neither Freezing Sky Clan nor the Great Frozen Plains Sect were his home in the Land of South Morning. The only place he called home was the ninth summit.

Su Ming was walking forward in the air, and the seventh summit lay at the end of what his eyes could see.

Tian Lan Meng had invited him multiple times and had offered him gifts from the golden stone coin, to the God of Berserkers Transformation, and later to Freezing Sky Sword before eventually changing it to the wooden slip. There was a process hidden in her actions. It could be said to have been a test, but could also be said to have been a gradual change of heart.

If she had not given the wooden slip, Su Ming would not have ventured out of the ninth summit, neither would he have went to meet the person who was ranked first on the Great Frozen Plains ranking board, Tian Lan Meng.

Su Ming’s expression was passive even as he held the wooden slip in his hands. As he moved forward, another long arc was struggling to keep up behind him. The person in that long arc was in fact the Chen Chan Er who had come forth to invite Su Ming all those multiple times.

Su Ming did not turn his head back. With the wooden slip in hand, he arrived in the sky above the seventh summit before long. The seventh summit seemed a little fuzzy in his eyes, as if there was a layer of mist around that mountain, yet if he took a closer look, he would find that there was actually no mist there.

He immediately discovered that the mountain was giving him this strange sensation due to the Rune that was naturally activated once all the halls within the mountain were in operation.

This was completely different from the ninth summit.

Su Ming gave it a brief glance before he averted his gaze and turned to look at the wooden slip in his hands. A glint appeared in his eyes, and his grip around the wooden slip tightened.

He stood in the air calmly without a hint of impatience or lethargy on his face. Chen Chan Er, who was behind him, only managed to catch up to him after a moment. It might have been because she was rushing over now, having been moving back and forth between the mountains multiple times that day, but her forehead was covered in sweat. She gave Su Ming a glare and flew past him without even a word.

Su Ming did not bother about the girl’s actions. He followed behind Chen Chan Er calmly and the two of them turned into long arcs as they flew towards the top of the mountain.

The moment they got closer to the mountain, the barely discernible mist before Chen Chan Er suddenly disappeared and the mountain return to normal, allowing Chen Chan Er to enter smoothly. Su Ming followed behind.

It was as if he had walked through a membrane, but it also felt that he had just passed through a layer of water. When he stepped into the seventh summit, the wind that blew against him was no longer cold but held a hint of warmth, and as he breathed in, there was a sweet fragrance to it.

That fragrance did not come from flowers or plants, but was a unique scent that was formed because there were a lot of female disciples in this mountain.

Playful giggles reached his ears, and in each place Su Ming’s eyes swept through, he saw women and girls. The female disciples on the summit were either playing around in groups or walking up the mountain stairs leisurely. They were so great in number that it was dazzling just looking at them.

Compared to the quiet ninth summit, the seventh summit was simply far too lively.

This liveliness that all came from women made Su Ming uncomfortable.

Almost at the very instant he arrived on the seventh summit, quite a number of female disciples also noticed his presence. His green robes, handsome figure, and the scar under his eyes made a lot of people able to identify him with just one glance.

”He’s…”

”I remember him. He’s Su Ming, the one who fought against fellow brother Si Ma. He’s from the ninth summit.”

”I remember too. He once told fellow brother Si Ma that he is his uncle master… Why is he here in the seventh summit?”

”That’s right. Men seldom come to the seventh summit. Who did he come for?”

Chirruping sound reached his ears, forcing Su Ming to take a deep breath to calm himself down. This was the first time he was in a situation like this. He could not adapt to this quickly and could only walk forward swiftly to avoid all the gazes focused on him.

Zi Yan was walking down the mountain stairs, her back straight. Her lazy demeanor gave her a unique, charming air. She placed a hand on her mouth and yawned, and when she lifted her head, she also saw Su Ming, who was walking to the top of the mountain with Chen Chan Er.

”Hm?”

Zi Yan blinked. When she saw Chen Chan Er guiding Su Ming forward, a confused look appeared on her face. She fell silent for a moment before she immediately moved towards where Han Cang Zi was.

There was another girl who saw Su Ming’s arrival on the seventh summit. The girl wore a purple robe and stood on a mountain rock. With the wind in her face, she looked into the distance, and her gaze was trained on the first summit.

The girl was incredibly beautiful and had a hint of wildness surrounding her. Her eyes were half-lidded and she was frowning, as if she was hesitating because of something.

When she saw Su Ming flying through the sky, towards the top of the mountain, disdain and contempt appeared within her eyes. However, that expression was quickly hidden away. She took a deep breath and cast a profound gaze towards the first summit before gritting her teeth.

Resolution appeared in her eyes.

”Bai Su, there’s definitely someone who looks incredibly similar to you which he met before in his life. That’s why if you go and approach him, he won’t refuse to see you.

”But I can’t let you do this. Even it’s for the reason so that I can plant a Berserker Seed inside him which would definitely make me succeed in challenging Freezing Sky Cave, and even if I don’t and the cave is dangerous for me.

”Still, even if it’s risky, I want to try it!”

That girl was naturally Bai Su.

At the moment that determined look appeared in her eyes, she remembered Si Ma Xin’s gentle words to her two months ago.

”Big brother Si Ma, I won’t let anything happen to you in Freezing Sky Cave…” Bai Su mumbled and turned around. The wind picked up a few locks of her hair and, as they floated in the wind, Bai Su left, similarly charging towards the top of the mountain.

Su Ming floated down on the top of the seventh summit. This was the first time he met Tian Lan Meng.

She was a woman with long hair and was dressed in red robes, and she was sitting at the edge of a huge rock which stood at the top of the mountain. The woman was looking at Su Ming and her face was as beautiful as a picture. Her smile was warm, and it did not give others even the slightest feeling that she was a stranger. In fact, her smile gave others the impression that they were looking at an old friend.

”Sister Chan Er, you can go back first,” the long haired woman said softly, and when the girl by her side heard her words, she nodded her head obediently and left the place.

However, when she passed by Su Ming, she did not forget to glare at him. Clearly, her multiple trips to the ninth summit had angered her due to Su Ming’s multiple refusals.

Once the girl left, the long haired woman smiled at him gently and spoke to Su Ming softly. ”Chan Er is still young, brother Su, please don’t mind her.”

There was a gentle air around her. This temperament, along with her natural grace and gentleness, gave her a noble air.

Su Ming’s gaze swept accross the woman. She was beautiful, but even though she was gentle, he still felt that there was a layer of mist before her, which caused others to have the feeling as if they were looking at her through the mist and could not see her clearly.

Su Ming walked forward silently, then with a lift of his robes, he sat down on the same rock right opposite the woman.

Once Su Ming sat down, he looked at the woman before her calmly and said languidly, ”It’s fine. In fact, I was fortunate to have been invited so many times.”

Su Ming could not gauge the woman’s level of cultivation.

”Congratulations, brother Su. You have improved once again. As expected, the people of the ninth summit are all extraordinary… I have overlooked this previously,” Tian Lan Meng said with a smile. She trained her eyes on Su Ming, and their gazes met each other.

Su Ming did not speak. He simply met Tian Lan Meng’s gaze squarely. After the span of a few breaths, wind blew past them and lifted a few locks of Tian Lan Meng’s hair. These locks of hair broke their gazes.

After a long while, Tian Lan Meng broke the silence and asked softly, ”Brother Su, how was the one copy I did?”

”You copied the spirit, and the form was also present. Both spirit and form are there… but there are still some details missing,” Su Ming answered calmly.

”What exactly is spirit?” Tian Lan Meng suddenly asked.

”Spirit is the mind, it is your thoughts, your imagination. Spirit is when you remember as you dream in your heart. This is what we call thought, and it is also spirit.”

Su Ming cast Tian Lan Meng a look before his gaze fell on the sky behind her.

”Brother Su, your understanding towards the word is different from mine.”

Tian Lan Meng’s gaze towards Su Ming changed slightly.

”Pray tell.”

Su Ming averted his gaze from the sky and trained his eyes on the long-haired woman’s face.

”Spirit is Dao,” Tian Lan Meng stated calmly.

”It is not thought, because thought in itself is narrow, but Dao is endless. Dao is a realm that those from other realms seek. Every person has a different Dao. The great Dao is boundless, and those who obtain Dao will see through the world, and in turn, we can say that we have found and become the truth.

”I have to thank you, brother Su, your fight with Si Ma Xin has allowed me to reach an epiphany and understand the meaning behind a sentence.

”I read this sentence from an ancient scroll before. It is a sentence that is spoken in the other worlds… If you stay on your Dao but have no method of solving a particular problem now, that method will eventually come to you. If you have the skills and power, but have strayed from your Dao, then you cannot use your skills, and your power will forever stay stagnant!”

Tian Lan Meng’s voice gradually started drifting and echoed around them.

”Due to my epiphany, while I still might not know the true meaning behind the words, I can view my epiphany as my Dao. Because I have a Dao, I could draw that copy of the slash you did after just one glance.

”That is why the spirit is Dao, and not the thought, heart, and imagination you speak of. Brother Su, do you understand my words?”

Tian Lan Meng smiled softly.

Su Ming looked at the smile on her face. There was no hint of ridicule or scorn within her smile, only logic and persistence, and she seemed to be waiting for his answer.

”All things in the world differ in sizes. My understanding towards the word is narrow and small to you, and the Dao you speak is a huge thing that seeks to reach a state where you understand the world.

”It is like two spots, like two different directions, and like two different extremes.”

Su Ming closed his eyes and scontinued, unhurried, ”To me, the heart is aspiration, and the spirit is a realm. You are walking on the Dao of the heavens, and I’m walking through the narrow gate on the earth, but once I walk past that gate, what I’m searching for is just to merely open my eyes. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

The last sentence written in the beast skin scrolls suddenly surfaced in Su Ming’s mind.

”You cannot see… the world that I see.”