Pursuit of the Truth

If Su Ming compared the mountain rock with the small black humanoid with the stone in his hand, he would find that the level of transparency of both stones was the same, and by the looks of it, even the components of both stones were the exact same! The only things different were that one was big, and the other small, and one of them contained a medicinal herb, while the other a small, black humanoid.

‘The small, black humanoid came from here! And here I was wondering why the materials for the Welcoming of Deities were so hard to find. Besides obtaining the ninth leg of the spider, which I obtained from Han Mountain City by complete coincidence, I’m positive that the black humanoid will only appear in this place!

‘If that’s the case, than that tail scale from the python should be an item that can only be found here as well. Perhaps I can gather all the materials required for the Welcoming of Deities from the World of Nine Yin!’

Su Ming stared at the transparent rock in his hand and at the seven-leafed medicinal herb inside. The herb’s form was incredibly similar to the herb he saw in Nine Shaman Pavilion earlier in the day. The only difference between them was that his herb had seven leaves, while the white-robed man’s had only three.

Even if he compared the living leaves, the white-robed man’s herb was already very obviously withered, but the herb in Su Ming’s hand was overflowing with life, though something caught his attention as he observed that herb, something that made him narrow his eyes. Because he saw that the remaining six leaves showed clear signs that they were bitten and torn off.

Those bite marks seemed to be left behind by a poisonous snake…

As Su Ming looked at the lively leaf, a picture formed in his head. In that picture, he saw that once this Dragon Leaf Grass was sealed inside the Crimson Stone, it bit down on one of the leaves by its side and absorbed its life to survive through the endless passage of time. After an unknown amount of time went by, it bit down on another leaf. Once it bit down on all the leaves by its side, it managed to persevere and survive.

”If that’s the case, I can understand why it managed to survive… but perhaps, it’s not like this,” Su Ming mumbled. The herb might be in that transparent piece of stone, but he could still feel a presence akin to that of a ferocious beast coming from inside.

But this was clearly a medicinal herb!

It was this brutal presence belonging to a ferocious beast that made Su Ming feel that perhaps during the instant the herb was sealed, this leaf had swiftly killed the other leaves and absorbed their essence. It also made sure that no other leaves could share the nutrients from the roots with it. By doing so, it had greatly increased the chances of its own survival.

Su Ming could not determine the value of the herb in his hand, and neither did he know of the effects of this medicinal herb. He only knew that the white-robed man had used this herb to test whether his Scattering Dust was real.

Judging by the white-robed man’s cautious attitude when he handled the herb, this thing should be extremely valuable. If that was truth, then Su Ming had reason to believe that the herb in his hand was even rarer.

After a moment of pensive silence, he put away the transparent stone into his storage bag and returned to his sitting position in the empty room. His eyes sparkled with an introspective light.

‘I was originally uninterested in the treasure gambling event, but… by the looks of it, I must join this event, and not just that, I’m going to use the small black humanoid’s unique ability to reap the greatest rewards possible!

‘As for attracting attention and bringing trouble to myself... I now have the warrior spirit’s protection and the chances of having the Spirit of Nine Yin equivalent of an End Shaman attack for me. If that is the case, I might as well… be flashy in the World of Nine Yin!’ A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He was a cautious person, but there was also a resolute being lying within that cautious man.

As long as he believed that there was something beneficial for him, he would take action without any hesitation! If the treasure gambling event only relied on luck, he would not have entered. He would not have wanted to waste his time on these sort of things that gave him no certainty of success.

However, the situation now was completely different. Once Su Ming learned of the strangeness of the small black humanoid, he felt his heart start beating in excitement. Even if he put aside the value of the medicinal herbs, there were other items in the Crimson Stones, and once he added all of these things together, this was practically a fortuitous event and serendipity to him. There was in no way Su Ming would give up on a chance like this.

‘Looks like I will change my decision regarding Wu Duo’s offer. I hesitated before because I didn’t want to join, but now… joining that thing is not of a problem to me!’

A cold glint flashed in Su Ming’s eyes. Once he understood that he was going to bring up a storm due to this serendipity, he closed his eyes and immersed himself in his meditation. Since he was most certainly going to join this treasure gambling event, most definitely going to be the center of attention during the event, and absolutely going to cause great bloodshed…

...then right now, he chose to isolate himself during the remaining two weeks he had left till the event. He chose to use this amount of time to make sure that he was in peak condition, so that he could be ready… for the surprise he would bring to these people!

As the treasure gambling event slowly crept in on the people, more Shamans arrived to Shaman City from all directions every single day. These people who managed to rush over were either lucky that they were Relocated not too far away from Shaman City, or they had extraordinary power, which was why they could eventually reach Shaman City from anywhere within those one million lis.

Shaman City was incredibly lively at the moment. Everyday, numerous intense trades were made, and these trades did not decline in number even when night time arrived.

Even so, there were still very few people who went to the Spirits of Nine Yin. After all, the prices for renting these Spirits of Nine Yin were too high… Besides those from middle-sized tribes or larger tribes who could afford them, most of the others could only sigh in envy.

Half a month gradually passed by with the bustle of activity in the city every single day. Lan Lan and Ahu also stopped wandering about Shaman City after the first few days and chose to stay inside. After all, the situation in Shaman City was a little complicated by then. There were too many people in the city, and these two children, who were not even Fledgling Shamans and who came from small tribes, were nothing but ants to these people.

If they did not have Su Ming’s protection, forget surviving in Shaman City, they might not have even been able to see the walls of Shaman City and would have died on their way there.

The last night before the treasure gambling event was the quietest night in the entire Shaman City during the past few days. Almost every single one of the shops had closed and stopped operations early in the day. Most of the Shamans had also returned to their lodgings to meditate in silence so that they could be in the best possible condition to participate in the Shaman Tribe’s great treasure gambling event hosted in the World of Nine Yin.

This would be a festival, a competition between their financial abilities, a clash of luck, and most of all, a test filled with bloodshed!

There was a pavilion located northeast in Shaman City. This was not an inn, neither was it a shop. It was instead the permanent lodgings of Autumn Sea Tribe in this place.

At that moment, there was a woman standing under the moonlight in a room at the top floor of the pavilion. The woman’s hair floated in air, and she was dressed in a pink robe. Moonlight fell on her face, revealing a beautiful countenance that would make people’s hearts race. She was so beautiful that not a single flaw could be found on her face… Besides her frowning brows and the faint dash of gloominess between them.

The wind was not strong, but it managed to lift up the woman’s black locks to float them in the air. She had been standing there for a long time. When the wind gradually became stronger, she lifted her right hand and caught her windblown hair. Under the moonlight, when she lifted her arm, the mark of a crimson dragon could be seen on her snowy white arm!

Wan Qiu, the Sacred Lady of Autumn Sea Tribe…

In another direction in Shaman City was a very extravagantly decorated shop, and in that shop was a woman in white. There were several people standing respectfully before her. All of them were incredibly nervous, and were talking to the woman in hushed whispers.

However, while the woman was listening to their words, the occasional dazed and exhausted look gave people the feeling of her having lost her soul.

The woman’s beauty could not compare to Wan Qiu, but there was something ethereal about her. The profound eyes and the gracefulness that radiated off her allowed others to be able to tell that this woman was not from the Shaman Tribe!

She was from the Immortal Tribe. She… was a Celestial Maiden.

In another direction in Shaman City was another pavilion located not too far away from where Su Ming was. Inside it, there was a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged. He was a skinny man, filled with a dignified air, without any anger on his face, the air of a leader. Sitting before him properly were two women.

These two women were almost identical in appearance, but one of them had a gentle look, and the other aloof. Their clothes were also different. The two of them sat in the room with their eyes closed, and they were both exercising their breathing.

”Meng Er, You Er, I will have the both of you by my side during this trip, but it is up to your serendipity this time as to who I will choose to take up my mantle and inherit my legacy.” After a long time, the middle-aged man opened his eyes, and his eyes were filled with profundity when he spoke with a hoarse voice.

If Su Ming was there and heard the man’s voice, he would definitely find it familiar. If he listened to it carefully and thought about it, then it was highly likely that he would remember that this voice only belonged to one person, and that was Sky Mist’s ancestor!

One of the two women was Tian Lan Meng, and the other was Tian Lan You! When Sky Mist’s ancestor spoke, the two women opened their eyes at the same time.

A resolute look appeared in Tian Lan You’s eyes, and as for Tian Lan Meng, she lowered her head and sighed in her heart.

”Once the treasure gambling event ends, your trials will start!” Sky Mist’s ancestor swept his gaze past Tian Lan Meng and a light crease formed between his brows, but he did not say anything.

Time slowly passed by. The nine moons in the sky faded away and dawn gradually approached, causing the world to be plunged into darkness…

In that darkness, Shaman City turned into a large shadow, and if anyone looked from the distance at the city, it would look as if it was a ferocious beast hiding in the dark.

At that moment, on a mountain nearby stood a person dressed in black robes. He looked at Shaman City, and a glint appeared in his eyes.

”I don’t know why my master’s projection disappeared after his fight with Hong Luo. Now I can’t contact him for a short period of time… but I’m still here, so that means that Hong Luo must be gone. Then Destiny… is not a problem to fear!

”Destiny, do you think you can escape from my gaze..? Before master’s second projection descends upon me, I will restore order and use this chance to land a great achievement…”

An aloof voice fell from the person’s mouth. That person was Di Tian’s servant, an Immortal that existed solely for Su Ming in the land of the Berserkers.

”The only thing I have to pay attention to is the End Shaman in this place… and the frightening legend of the World of Nine Sanctities…” The person mumbled to himself and walked towards Shaman City.

Light gradually appeared in the sky at dawn. The darkness on the ground was like a black veil that covered the land and was slowly lifted by an invisible hand, causing the earth to gradually brighten up…

A new day arrived. The treasure gambling event… was about to start!