Pursuit of the Truth

Su Ming looked at the stone statue of the petite girl in the coffin. As he looked at her face, that young voice traveled forth from his memories to his ears, causing a hint of sorrow to appear on his face.

”You’re awake.” Di Tian remained silent for a moment before he spoke calmly. The hint of shock that appeared previously on his face had disappeared by now. He became aloof once again.

”I remember her…” Su Ming mumbled. He suddenly understood. That dream was perhaps… not a dream.

The sorrow in his eyes gradually became stronger and it would not disappear. His eyes glistened and tears fell down from his eyes, falling onto the stone statue.

At the same time, the instant those tears fell on the stone statue, new scenes appeared in his mind… In those scenes, Su Ming saw himself, and that himself had red hair and red robes.

He saw his red-haired self walking out of the cave abode and drawing out earthen aura to turn it into a crimson dragon. He saw himself absorbing power from a large amount of powerful warriors in the land of the Shamans wherever he went, not even letting go of some of the powerful ferocious beasts he could find…

He also saw his red-haired self heading to Autumn Sea Tribe and sealing the heavens with just a lift of his hand. Once he also sealed that Zong Ze in the sky, he brought his hands down and sealed the land, and once he sealed all the members of Autumn Sea Tribe, he walked towards the Sacred Lady of Autumn Sea Tribe, then picked Wan Qiu up and left the place with his red hair dancing in the wind.

Su Ming saw that Art of the Dragon Subject, Yin Simurgh, saw the entire procedure of his red-haired self casting that Art with Wan Qiu. If was as if Hong Luo’s trip during those short few days was flashing past Su Ming’s eyes at a much faster pace.

He also saw his red-haired self fighting against the old Immortal and the halberd from the sky executing him in an incredibly domineering way, and also… himself casting the Art of the Dragon Subject, Yin Simurgh on the long-haired woman...

Right up to the moment the sacred mountain of the Shaman Tribe appeared, right up to the moment Di Tian appeared and engaged him in that earth shattering fight. Eventually, his memory stopped at the instant Hong Luo’s soul disappeared, while laughing and sending into his body… the Path to Life!

”I have practiced Daoism for thirty thousand years… Now I shall turn back and become a mortal, I will not be an Immortal!” That boisterous laughter stirred up layers of ripples in Su Ming’s mind, and when it eventually disappeared, it turned into a hoarse and ancient voice.

”Listen up, boy. I have a deep grudge against Di Tian, but his strength has surpassed what I remember. I don’t know how long I have been sealed away, and now I’m about to die as a mortal, but I’m not willing to!

”I am the son of the Emperor of Mortals. With the legacy Art of the royal family - Path to Life, I give you the power to release your seal. This Art will become stronger the higher your level of cultivation is, and it will help you break the seal on your memories!

”It can also transform your blood and let you possess the purest blood among all Immortals… Within that blood rests all my Dao, my Arts, my divine abilities. All of them will belong to you!

”I’m burning up what little remains of my life to cast this Path to Life and send you to the coffin. I can sense that the coffin is very important to you… Don’t bother about the threat of facing Di Tian alone. I’ve already thought about the way to help you solve that problem. As long as you can hear these words, then it’ll definitely succeed!

”The Path to Life can only be passed down to one person in each generation of the royal family, and once it’s mastered by that person, no matter how talented the others are, they won’t be able to learn it. This is a dead set rule! All the scions of this Art can only cast this once in their lives. It doesn’t contain any offensive abilities and can only be used to pass down the inheritance…

”That’s why Di Tian doesn’t know the Path of Life. He also doesn’t know that this Art can open the Gate to the Void, which can relocate you! This is originally a path to escape for us in case an emergency happens while we’re passing down the inheritance. I left a mark at the place I woke up previously, and the gate can send you back there…

”Once the Gate to the Void opens, Di Tian won’t be able to interfere with his power. The Path to Life can also cover up your presence, causing Di Tian’s divine sense to be unable to find you.

”Then you’ll have a period of time where you’ll be truly free… I didn’t use this Art earlier because there is only one chance for me to cast it, and if there is no scion for me, I couldn’t cast it anyway… Besides, if I used this Art to escape, it’d still be difficult for me to escape being sealed, and I might not have a chance to wake up again. I would… rather die!

”The Gate to the Void is in your heart. Call it, and it will open! Your level of cultivation isn’t high, but when you become a powerful warrior someday, help me take my revenge. Kill Di Tian!”

Su Ming felt a sharp stab of pain in his head and those scenes instantly disappeared. In truth, he felt that a long time had passed since the scenes appeared right up till they disappeared, but that lapse of time was just his mind replaying those memories. To outsiders, it only lasted for an instant.

Before his death, Hong Luo’s voice had traveled with the Path to Life and avoided Di Tian’s divine sense to imprint itself on Su Ming’s mind. Only when Su Ming woke up would he be able to hear it.

As he stared at the stone statue in the coffin, Su Ming lifted his right hand and grabbed the edge of the coffin in a death grip.

”You shouldn’t have awakened. Your current appearance makes me… very disappointed… Hong Luo was an accident, and I’ve already restored order. Sleep, Destiny…” After a period of silence, Di Tian spoke slowly.

Yet the instant his words left his mouth, Su Ming turned around swiftly and stared at Di Tian with his deadly still eyes.

”No one can seal off my memories again, and neither can you!” A strand of hair surrounded Su Ming’s right index finger without anyone noticing it. This strand of hair was the materialization of the power of a jab from the God of Berserkers, and strangely, when Su Ming’s body was under Hong Luo’s control, that strand of hair had disappeared as if it had dissipated. Even Hong Luo had been unable to notice it.

Yet now, as Su Ming’s will returned, that strand of hair also reappeared on him.

It did not release any sort of presence when it appeared either. That was why even Di Tian did not pay any attention to Su Ming’s right hand seizing the coffin. Naturally, he also did not see the extra strand of hair on his finger.

This was Su Ming’s trump card. It was also the source of why he could stay calm even after he met Di Tian. He had already decided. The power of that one jab from the God of Berserkers, the power that he could not find in himself to use, on this day, he would use it once!

Even if he did not know whether he could kill this Di Tian when he used this power, this Di Tian that even Hong Luo could not win against, and even if Hong Luo had already made perfect preparations for him to flee before dying.

However, Su Ming did not want to leave just like that!

If he did not want to, then there was no need for him to say anything else!

Di Tian stared at Su Ming with an aloof and expressionless face. The instant Su Ming looked at him, he lifted his right leg and took a step towards him.

”As my son, not only did you disappoint me, you’re still acting as childishly as ever!” With that one step, a wave instantly shot out of from beneath Di Tian’s foot. The strength of that wave was so powerful that it closed in on Su Ming in an instant.

A mighty pressure that could not be challenged swiftly descended on Su Ming, pinning him to his spot. Once the wave swept past his feet, Su Ming shuddered and coughed out a mouthful of blood.

”Kneel!”

Di Tian’s powerful divine sense and willpower gathered on Su Ming’s body, making him feel as if there were heavy mountains pressing on him, causing cracking sounds to appear from his knees, and they started trembling violently.

”What right do you have to make me kneel?!” Su Ming gritted his teeth and lifted his head to glare at Di Tian. His legs remained straight. Sharp stabs of pain shot up his body, but they could not make him surrender.

”You rebellious boy. I brought you up, and you refuse to kneel? Kneel down!” Di Tian walked towards Su Ming and closed in on him. At that moment, there was only thirty feet between the two of them.

As Di Tian’s aloof voice spoke up, with a bang, blood poured out of Su Ming’s knees. He staggered. That mighty willpower and pressure felt as if they had physical substance as they pressed on him, and it was not something he could control with his will. His heart might not kneel, but as that pressure continued pushing him down, his right knee started falling to the ground.

But the moment his knee was about to touch the ground, Su Ming pressed his left hand on the floor and seized it, causing his right knee to hang one inch above it.

”Besides having power that surpasses mine, what else do you have over me?! You can make my body kneel, but you can’t make my heart do the same!” Su Ming lifted his head and glared at Di Tian with bloodshot eyes and blood trickling down his mouth. Those deadly still eyes made a deathly still calmness also appear on his face.

”Today, you can make me kneel before you with your power, but in the future… I will definitely make you pay back several fold for what you did today! And it won’t just be you, I will make your entire Immortal Tribe kneel under my feet! I will make you lower your head before me!

”I will definitely do it!” Su Ming declared with gritted teeth, his determination clear in each and every one of his words. At the same time, he called out the Gate to the Void in his heart.

Di Tian’s expression did not change even a single bit in the face of Su Ming’s words. He moved to within twenty feet of Su Ming and stared at him coldly, who was only one inch away from kneeling down. He looked at the veins popping on his face, at the blood on his knees, at him resisting the endless amount of pressure, which was causing a numerous amount of blood capillaries to appear on his left hand, which was pressing against the ground.

”I don’t need your heart submitting to me as well, it’s enough if your body kneels,” Di Tian stated slowly, lifting his right hand and moving to point at the center of Su Ming’s brows swiftly. Once that finger fell, then everything would return to the state it was in several days ago. Su Ming’s memories would be sealed up once again, and when he woke up once more, he would still be confused about his past and future.

There would also be a pair of eyes behind him constantly watching his every move.

However, the instant Di Tian lifted his finger and was about to touch Su Ming’s brows, suddenly, his expression changed. A power that did not belong to Su Ming, a power that seemed like the cold emptiness in the world erupted forth from his body.

That power was so great that the instant it erupted, it made Di Tian’s finger freeze. It was as if that power was fighting against him, and within a short few breaths, Di Tian let out a muffled groan and took a step backwards.

With that step backwards, the wave surrounding the area around Su Ming instantly disappeared. The divine sense and pressure pressing on his body was bounced off right away.

As that power erupted from his body, distortions appeared in the emptiness behind him. An oval shaped, gigantic vortex formed up!

At the same time that vortex appeared, all the movements in the world froze!