Pursuit of the Truth

‘Di Tian’s projection should have disappeared under the power of the God of Berserkers… But his clone is already so powerful. If he sends another one or comes himself…’ Su Ming sat down cross-legged in his cave abode, and when he remembered what happened half a year ago, a dark look settled on his face.

‘But if he has such power, then why am I so important to him..? Is there a secret on me or perhaps in Di Tian’s heart?’ Su Ming had been thinking about this question for a very long time, but he still had not found a complete answer.

”Fei Er…” Su Ming said softly. At the same time he said those two words, while there was no grief in his divine sense, but sorrow rose within his heart and body uncontrollably.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them after some time, anguish surfaced in them.

”Perhaps the greatest sorrow in the world is when you don’t even know why you’re sad…” Su Ming mumbled softly in anguish. He remembered the stone statue of the girl in the coffin. He also understood that everything in the dream was perhaps real, but… there was still a large part of his memories missing, and it was difficult for him to experience that sort of misery in both his body and soul.

‘Without deeply etched memories, even the most familiar people will turn into strangers… but no one can wipe away the body’s memories. The pain in my heart is reminding me of the existence of this sorrow… but my mind is calm. It’s as if my body and soul are separated.

‘Just what is this Destiny?!

‘Just what is Di Tian’s will?!

‘Who am I? Was everything in Dark Mountain really just an illusion..?

‘Why… why did elder name me Su Ming..?’

‘Destiny… Destiny… Once I control my own fate, then who else can call me Destiny?! No one!’ Su Ming lifted his head, and his gaze seemed to have penetrated through the cave abode to look at the sky beyond the seal.

After a long while, he closed his eyes and started forming seals with his hands. The Nascent Soul in his body moved in accordance to the seals and cast the divine ability required to refine puppets. The material for it was that old Berserker.

Time trickled by, and in the blink of an eye, another month passed.

During that time, the small snake kept vigilance and observed the surroundings outside, keeping to Su Ming’s orders given to it through his thoughts, acting as a protector.

On this day, the power of the world in Su Ming’s cave abode suddenly started churning in waves and turned into a vortex in an instant, absorbing all the power of the world around the area. Even the mountain range started roaring, and this continued for most of the day until two people walked out of the cave abode.

The person walking in front was Su Ming. His expression was aloof and he was dressed in a black robe. Behind him stood the old Berserker, whose gaze was blank. He was covered head to toe in black, and there was a ghastly air emanating from him as he followed Su Ming.

Su Ming stopped outside the cave abode and turned his head back to cast a glance at the old Berserker behind him. A faint glint appeared in his eyes, and he lifted his right hand, formed a seal, then pointed at him. Immediately, dark light shone in the old man’s eyes. He took a step forward and threw a fist towards the sky.

That one fist caused a loud rumble to ring in the sky, along with a large amount of ripples. There was also a wave of black fog that spread out as he threw his fist outwards, and it covered an area of seventy to eighty feet. Not too far away, the small snake lifted its head and stared at the black fog with a quizzical look in its eyes.

The old Berserker stood in midair, unmoving.

Su Ming stared at the old man, then shook his head and sighed.

‘This person might just be in the initial stage of the Berserker Soul Realm, but he practiced some sort of divine ability that not only made his body really sturdy, he could also split his soul up in several parts and hide them in his body.

‘With the Immortals’ Art to refine puppets, I can only refine two of his Souls and four of his Spirits [1], I still can’t find where he hid that one other Soul and three Spirits of his, or else I would be able to use him to cast divine abilities belonging to the Berserker Soul Realm instead of me being only able to use his physical strength.

‘But this is good too. From this Corpse Transformation through All Venom Hong Luo left for me, I can refine a Poison Corpse. I don’t need any divine abilities, I just need a strong physical body, because the venom in that body is the best divine ability it has.

‘Right now, while I’m only halfway done refining it, but some of the small snake’s poison is in his body, and that poison is very domineering. I can use that poison temporarily. Once I run into other sorts of poison in the future, I can let this Poison Corpse absorb it and then slowly refine him into a real Poison Corpse!

‘With just a Poison Corpse alone, I might not be able to break that ice just yet. I still need to make more preparations.’ Su Ming mulled over his thoughts for some time before he sent out a thought to the Poison Corpse, then he ignored it, returning to his cave abode and isolating himself once again.

The Poison Corpse descended from the sky. It was still covered head to toe in black, but its eyes had become dull once again. It stood outside the cave abode, unmoving.

The small snake in the sky hesitated for a moment before it flew towards the puppet in a flash and laid down on its head while hissing, looking really comfortable.

Time continued trickling by. During these days, Su Ming continued trying to refine Ji Yun Hai’s corpse, but every single time he sent his divine sense into Ji Yun Hai’s corpse, he could not make his divine sense stay. There was no place for him to leave his Brand there.

Ji Yun Hai’s body was empty. Even his organs could not be found. His entire person was like an empty shell, making Su Ming truly puzzled as to how Madam Ji had managed to control it.

He tried a lot of methods, but none of them yielded any results Su Ming stared at Ji Yun Hai’s corpse and thought about it for a long time with a frown on his face, but he could only shake his head and sigh.

‘Soul Catchers are really mysterious. Madam Ji’s puppet is also different from the young Soul Catcher’s puppet I saw in the past. Just how did she control this puppet?

‘This is clearly an empty shell!’ Su Ming frowned. Suddenly, a focused look appeared on his face and he looked towards Ji Yun Hai’s corpse swiftly. A brilliant flash gradually appeared in his eyes.

‘Empty shell… empty shell…’ Su Ming’s eyes sparkled. After a moment of pensive silence, he closed his eyes, formed seals with his hands, then tapped on several spots on his body. His entire presence changed, and the small Nascent Soul in him opened his eyes. The spirit in his eyes made it clear that this was indeed Su Ming.

With one move, that small Nascent Soul seeped out from Su Ming’s jugular notch, then floated above his head. His body was rather indistinct, as if he would dissipate when wind blew against him. He also shuddered, and it caused shock along with confusion to appear in the small person’s eyes.

”The Nascent Soul Cultivators only train their souls. Their bodies are just an empty shell. Their Nascent Souls are their foundations. For a Cultivator, once their Nascent Soul or Nascent Divinity is taken away, it would signify their death. On the other hand, their bodies are less important…” Su Ming’s voice tumbled out of that small Nascent Soul. With a dash, it charged towards Ji Yun Hai’s corpse and disappeared without a trace.

After a moment, Ji Yun Hai opened his eyes. They were gray, but within the depths of that gray a dark light was flashing. Yi Yun Hai sat up slowly and dipped his head down to inspect his body. After some time, a smile appeared at the corners of his lips.

‘Not bad. So I can use puppets like this as well? It must be different from Madam Ji’s method though…’

At the same time, Su Ming opened his eyes. Once he met Ji Yun Hai’s gaze, a smile appeared on his lips, and at the same time, a rather intrigued look crossed his face.

Su Ming looked at Ji Yun Hai and felt as if he had been split into two. One of them had manifested in Ji Yun Hai’s body with his power in the Immortal Tribe, while the other one was his real self, watching himself casting an Art akin to Possession so that he could control Ji Yun Hai.

Su Ming smiled. Ji Yun Hai, who was under the control of his Nascent Soul, also smiled. He got up, and with one move, booming sounds came from another stone chamber. There was a large amount of black beetles there, and they were all waking up, charging towards him.

Su Ming’s gaze narrowed, but he did not move. Even Ji Yun Hai, who was under his Nascent Soul’s control, did not move. He simply let those beetles approach them and cover up Ji Yun Hai’s entire body, making it seem as if Ji Yun Hai had become another person. If no one took a closer look, they would be unable to tell that this body was not made of flesh and blood but by those insects.

‘If that’s the case, then I can consider this to be another clone for me.’ Su Ming’s spirits were lifted up. He witnessed the might of Di Tian’s projected clone, and now that he obtained this strange puppet as well, his understanding towards the Immortal Tribe increased.

Su Ming was already sitting cross-legged on the ground. With just one thought, a hint of a smile appeared on the dark clone’s face and he took a huge step forward before he walked out of the cave abode.

As he watched the clone leave, Su Ming lifted his right hand, and when he turned it over, a crystal the size of a fist appeared in his palm. That was the Wind Crystal of Inheritance. He stared at it, and a strange look appeared on his face.

He had thought of everything he could, but it was simply too difficult for him to fuse with this item. However, during the fight with Madam Ji that day, an idea formed in his head when he saw Madam Ji cast a divine ability when they were fighting against each other.

However, he had lost his consciousness later. Now that he had returned to his cave abode, he could clear his mind and ponder over that idea to see whether it was feasible.

‘It doesn’t matter whether it’s the power of the God of Berserkers or Han Mountain Bell. Even this Immortals’ power is just external power to me. I can’t rely on them too much. My power as a Berserker alone is the foundation for me to become stronger!’

Su Ming stared at the Wind Crystal of Inheritance for several moments before a strange light shone in his eyes.

‘Perhaps this method will work!’ He gritted his teeth.

At that moment, his clone walked out of his cave abode under the control of his Nascent Soul. At the instant he walked out, the small snake lying on the Poison Corpse’s head immediately looked up, and uncertainty appeared in its eyes.

Su Ming’s clone smiled. He swung his right hand at the ground, and the Black Crane tribe leader’s corpse flew towards him. With it in his arms, the clone shot into the sky and turned into a long arc to charge into the distance. Once he was close to the seal Hong Luo made around the mountain range, Su Ming’s clone lifted his right hand and formed a seal before he pointed at air. Immediately, ripples appeared right in front of them. Su Ming’s clone stepped into the ripple and disappeared without a trace.

When he reappeared, the clone was standing in midair. When he dipped his head down, he saw an empty mass of land beneath him, not the mountain range. There was also a fiery red ape squatting down not too far away, and it was looking at him with a flabbergasted look.

When he saw the Fire Ape, Su Ming’s clone let out a laugh and joy could be seen radiating off his face. He lifted his right hand and pointed at the Fire Ape. Immediately, ripples appeared in the space before the Fire Ape, revealing the entrance to the cave abode. The Fire Ape was momentarily stunned before it immediately crawled in and disappeared within that entrance.

The smile on Su Ming’s clone gradually disappeared, replaced by coldness. He looked towards the direction of Black Crane Tribe, then charged straight towards it!

Translator’s Notes

Three 魂 (Hun) and seven 魄 (Po), translated as three Hun and seven Po, but it sounded really odd if I used pinyin, like I’m talking about something else entirely, which is not, so here we have three Souls and seven Spirits.

In Daoism, it’s believed that the three Souls and seven Spirits make up a person. The people in Imperial China also believed in this thing.

The three Souls govern your life, your will, and your intelligence.

The seven Spirits are seven emotions: Joy, anger, sadness, fear, love, hate, and desire.