Pursuit of the Truth

That strange sight shocked the male Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face. He had never seen such a bizarre Art before. In fact, he did not even know what that shadow was.

All of this happened too quickly, and he only managed to see the shadow immediately appearing behind him the moment Ying Huan got closer to the young man playing the xun while leaning against the big tree. That shadow got closer to her without a sound, and what came next were Ying Huan’s screams.

The man with the battle axe came to an abrupt halt as he was moving forward, and his heart started pounding against his chest. The things that happened before them right then made him and his companion’s skin crawl.

Almost the moment the female Shaman let out that shrill cry, the shadow behind her opened its mouth wide and covered her entire body completely, making it seem as if the woman was swallowed by it.

It would have been fine if that had just been the case, but once the female Shaman was swallowed up by the shadow within the area that was filled with the song’s ripples, the fire-red ape that was squatting before the young man leaning against the tree glared at them with a murderous look.

The ape had originally not bothered the Shamans, but at that moment, as it let loose its murderous aura, a brutal sensation came crashing into them. That ape moved and turned into a dash of fire-red that charged towards the man with the bat tattoo.

It was so fast that it arrived almost instantaneously, and as the Fire Ape swiped at him, the pupils of the man with the bat tattoo shrank. As he tumbled backwards and coughed out a mouthful of blood, his chest was turned into a bloody mess, his face was filled with shock. As he retreated, a sharp whistle came from his mouth, and his entire body instantly turned into a layer of mist. Only then did he manage to avoid the Fire Ape’s fatal strike.

”Meng Heng! Kill that Berserker!” That sharp cry tumbled out of the male Shaman’s lips, who had now turned into mist, and as his body moved back, the Fire Ape chased after him furiously.

Meng Heng was the brawny man with the battle axe. There was not a hint of hesitation in him. He knew well that this was the Berserker Tribe’s land, and every single step they took here was filled with danger. If he cared about his own safety at this moment, then once the other two died, it would be difficult for him to survive. It would be better if he tried and fought for his life!

This was a battle none of the three Shamans had expected. They had originally thought this to be an easy battle. Their opponent was just a Berserker in the Awakening Realm, not even one in the Bone Sacrifice Realm. Yet he had not even struck, his body had not even moved an inch, and one of their own had already been swallowed bizarrely by a black shadow, while the other was currently being hunted by an ape. They were in grave danger.

”Just what is this person’s status within the Berserker Tribe?!” The brawny man let out a low growl and charged towards Su Ming like a cyclone with his battle axe in hand.

‘His status within the Berserker Tribe must be really high, or else why would he possess that treasure that could swallow Ying Huan and own that ferocious beast that can even fight against Fu Ge when he’s just a Berserker who hasn’t even reached the Bone Sacrifice Realm?!

‘This person must be really weak and can’t even hold his own in a fight. Fu Ge must have asked me to kill him because he saw through this. Once this person dies… all his treasures will be ours!’

A fierce glare appeared within the man’s eyes. He was so quick that with just one step, he had already closed in on Su Ming, who was by the big tree while playing the xun, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.

”Die!”

A strange green light appeared all over the man’s body. As that green light flashed, his lifted right hand swelled up, and a bloodthirsty aura spread out from the battle axe. With one swing, the axe sliced through the air, straight down towards Su Ming’s head.

Not too far in the distance, shrill, pained screams rang out from the mist, which had been ripped apart several times by the Fire Ape once it caught up to it. The mist’s speed increased as it escaped once again, and the male Shaman who had turned into the mist saw the axe swinging down on Su Ming as he hastily retreated.

”Kill him!” that male Shaman shouted, then withdrew once again.

The brawny man laughed ominously. That blow contained all his strength, and he was confident that even if he ran into a Berserker in the initial stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm, if they were just like this young man, who would not even dodge and just allowed him to cut him down, they would surely die.

Yet when the Shaman-now-turned-mist looked on eagerly and the brawny man began envisioning Su Ming being cut in half with a savage look on his face, Su Ming remained unmoving, a black bracelet on his wrist. It suddenly dissipated and broke off from Su Ming’s wrist in the form of black mist, which rolled together and turned into the form of a woman’s body. She appeared before Su Ming, right in front of the man, and lifted her right hand to receive that strike.

The woman appeared too quickly, so quickly that she almost materialized in the span of a breath. Her whole entire body was black and her face could not be seen. They could only see her curvaceous body, and as her hand touched the axe swinging down, a loud bang abruptly rang out.

The man holding the axe shuddered, and his right hand instantly exploded, causing the axe to fall back with a humming sound in the air before it turned into an arc that fell into the forest in the distance. That man trembled, and blood mist burst forth from his body. He staggered backwards and coughed out a huge mouthful of blood with a pale face. Without any hesitation, he retreated, and once he did so, shock appeared in his eyes.

He was not the only one shocked. The male Shaman who had turned into mist was also stunned. As he continued retreating, the Fire Ape, which had been incessantly chasing him down, suddenly froze. That distance was the limit of the chain wound around the Fire Ape’s neck. It could not continue onward. It bared its teeth and let out a low growl, then slightly backed off at a very slow pace.

Using that chance, the male Shaman changed back into his physical form from the mist. His breathing was quick as his heart pounded with lingering fear, but when he saw Meng Hao coughing out blood, withdrawing in haste, his breathing stilled.

The woman formed by the black mist standing before Su Ming glared at the two Shamans coldly. She did not speak, but her gaze alone was enough to make their hearts tremble.

‘The middle stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm!’ The male Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face felt a bang go off in his head the moment his gaze met the woman’s.

The brawny man’s entire right hand had exploded and was now a bloodied mess. His direction as he fell back was different from the male Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face. He did not dare go to where the male Shaman was, the Fire Ape was there.

Between them was Su Ming, leaning against the big tree with his eyes closed.

The short battle became silent. The Fire Ape squatted on its spot and swept its gaze at the two people coldly. The woman formed by the black mist did the same thing.

‘He possesses a valuable treasure that could swallow Ying Huan, owns an ape that has the power equivalent to that of those in the Bone Sacrifice Realm with a speed that is shocking, then has a Spirit Slave that is in the middle stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm protecting him… How could he be so powerful? He’s supposed to just be in the Awakening Realm!’

The man with the bat tattoo on his face was pale. He knew that there was no hope for him to win this battle, and he was just about to leave…

In the other direction, the brawny male Shaman’s heart was also racing in fear. The dangers in this battle made him lose all will to continue fighting. Now he only wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. He had gone through many trials and tribulations before he finally managed to get into the land of Berserkers. He did not want to die here.

To the brawny man, that young man leaning against the tree with his eyes closed was filled with enigma. He did not want to get closer to that mysteriousness. He just wanted to get out of this place.

Yet the moment thoughts of escape appeared within him and his fellow Shaman with the bat tattoo and they were just about to run into two different directions, their bodies suddenly froze.

With increasing fear, they saw a figure gradually appearing out of thin air, right at the spot before Su Ming and behind the Fire Ape, where Ying Huan was swallowed up previously.

That figure had a curvaceous body but leaned on the slightly petite side. It was a woman with a tattoo on her face that made her look ugly. That woman… was the Shaman, Ying Huan!

She reappeared!

However, the originally empty eyes of the newly appeared Ying Huan were suddenly filled with a lively glare. Standing there, she lowered her head to look at her own body. Then, as the other two Shamans were stunned still, she moved her limbs. By the looks of it, it was as if she was not too used to this body and needed time to get used to it.

”She’s… not Ying Huan!”

The male Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face instantly turned stark pale. He just saw very clearly, coldness and unfamiliarity showing up within the newly appeared Ying Huan’s eyes.

The brawny man also noticed this. Terror appeared within his eyes, and he retreated hastily without any further hesitation.

Almost the moment he started retreating, the Shaman with the bat tattoo on his face also instantly fell back. The two of them ran in opposite directions, but right as they took their very first steps, the newly appeared Ying Huan smiled with a hint of darkness on her lips. She charged towards the man with the bat tattoo.

The black figure that was given to Su Ming by his eldest senior brother and was floating before him also moved and turned into a gust of black smoke that charged towards the brawny Shaman.

Only the Fire Ape remained around Su Ming while it let out displeased growls, because it was tied down by the chain around its neck.

Before long, from another side of the forest came wisps of smoke that looked like a person. A woman appeared right before Su Ming, and a human head fell from the wisps of smoke before they charged towards Su Ming’s right hand and turned into a black bracelet.

Some time passed by, and a muffled screamed echoed in the air. After a moment, from another side of the forest came a man. This person was the Shaman, Fu Ge, who had been running away. As he walked forth, he kept shaking his body as if he was trying to get used to it. In his right hand he held a human head, and it belonged to Ying Huan.

His eyes sparkled, and he stopped a hundred something feet away from Su Ming. His gaze fell on him, and his eyes sparkled, a murderous gleam evident within them. It was as if he was hesitating and being unsure. His eyes shone with killing intent as he continued observing Su Ming.

Pitter…

Patter…

The blood from the human head in his hand let out pattering sounds as it fell on the ground, and the sound was incredibly distinct in that quiet night.

Almost the instant he stopped moving, the Fire Ape turned around and glared at the thing with the Shaman Fu Ge’s appearance. It snarled and growled at him, because it could sense it. Even though this person’s form was different, it was still that shadow that the ape despised.

That person’s hostile gaze made the Fire Ape’s growls turn increasingly more murderous.