Pursuit of the Truth

’Could it be that he’s the reason behind the Candle Dragon bringing out the Undying and Imperishable World and causing the tenth moon to appear?! That small snake on his shoulders is light red in color and there is a crack at the center of its brows. When it looked at me, I felt my skin crawl, could it be… Could it be that it’s?’

The Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s breathing quickened. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he fled even faster.

’Could it be that the Candle Dragon has resurrected?!’

The Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s teeth chattered. Right at the moment that thought that caused fear to crawl down his spine appeared in his head, a powerful roar came from the distance. It was a sound that made him feel such extreme fear that he felt as if his soul was about to leave his body.

That roar was one that could steal other people’s souls. It made him instinctively turn his head back to look, and the instant he saw the direction from which that roar came from, his face immediately turned pale, and not a single hint of blood could be seen on his face.

He saw a gigantic shadow in the sky in the distance, and that shadow belonged to a Candle Dragon. It had its mouth opened wide, and as it roared, it looked as if it was devouring something.

That shadow might be barely perceptible, but there was no way he would be wrong about this. He knew that one of his kinsmen was fleeing in that direction, and when he saw the Candle Dragon’s shadow, he knew that his kinsman was most likely dead.

With fear still lingering in his heart, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat gritted his teeth and was just about to turn around and charge forward in a mad dash without a care for anything else, but right when he turned his body, he froze. A feeling as if a chill had run through his entire body rose within him, because at some unknown point of time, a person had appeared right before him, and he was staring at him coldly!

That person appeared calm, and his gaze was aloof, as if he was looking at a dead thing. He stood there silently, causing the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s face to change drastically. Just as he was about to retreat, Su Ming took a step forward, lifted his right hand, and tapped the center of the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s brows.

”Don’t you dare!”

The Golden Thread Sacred Bat let out a sharp screech and his wings came forward diagonally to form a shield before him. Right at that instant, he began forming a seal quickly with his hands and pushed forward swiftly. Waves of ripples instantly appeared. As the ripples spread out, they looked like a ferocious face of an evil spirit that was moving forward to devour whatever was in its path.

At the same time, he bit the tip of his tongue and coughed out a mouthful of golden blood. That blood turned into a golden bat, and with a piercing screech, it charged forward.

But it had not ended. Once he finished doing these things, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat seized the air with his right hand. Immediately, a spherical-shaped, golden scimitar appeared in his hand. With a swing of the scimitar, a ray of golden light shot up and charged towards Su Ming.

In his haste, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat could only execute these moves. However, to be able to cast these divine abilities in such a short amount of time was proof of just how powerful he was.

Su Ming’s tap had stirred a sound that sliced through the air and sounded as if the earth and heaven were about to shatter. His finger touched the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s wings, which were acting as his shield, and a loud banging sound spread out. Blood instantly covered the entirety of his wings and the sound of bones being broken traveled forth. If the Golden Thread Sacred Bat had not immediately spread his wings outwards, they would have fallen apart straight away, reduced to pieces of flesh and blood.

Su Ming’s finger did not stop moving even after the Sacred Bat spread his wings outwards. He tapped on the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s second layer of defense, and rumbling sounds emerged from the malicious ghost face formed from the ripples. When these ripples completely disappeared, the golden bat that was formed from the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s blood let out a piercing screech and rushed towards Su Ming’s finger.

Before the lingering rumbling sounds in the air disappeared, new booming sounds rang out. Under the might of that one jab, the golden bat exploded with a screech. However, the speed on that one jab had been greatly reduced.

As the golden bat disappeared, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s golden scimitar in the shape of a full moon appeared right before Su Ming’s finger. Both of them clashed at that instant. A loud crash that shook the skies rang out, and blood flowed out of the corners of the Sacred Bat’s mouth as he was sent rapidly tumbling backwards.

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He stood in midair and did not move back even an inch. However, he did not pull back his finger. That one jab had no name. After millions of evolutions, it was completed in the Undying and Imperishable World. Ever since Su Ming walked out, no one had actually managed to survive that one jab of his.

As of then, this Golden Thread Sacred Bat was the first!

The Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s face was pale and filled with terror. As he fell back, he could not help but cough out blood. He might not have died, but he was absolutely terrified of that one jab. He might have reduced a large portion of its power with his multiple layers of protection, but its remaining power still caused his Qi to churn in his body, and he lost a large portion of his life force.

’What is that divine ability?!’

As the Golden Thread Sacred Bat retreated, he knew that his life was on the line and that it was impossible for him to escape, which was why he decided to just plunge himself into madness.

”How dare you injure me?! I am a Golden Thread Sacred Bat. I am the messenger of our sacred ancestor’s will. If you kill me, then it means that you are declaring war on all Sacred Bats. This is a consequence you cannot bear!”

The Golden Thread Sacred Bat roared, and as he roared, red filled his eyes. He was afraid, extremely afraid. Su Ming’s power gave him a feeling that he could not even hope to stand up to him.

As composed as ever, Su Ming took a step forward and lifted his right hand. After testing the strength of his physical body, he wanted to see the power of his divine abilities.

He clenched his right hand into a fist, and when he moved forward, he hurled it straight towards the sky.

This punch was for the Wind Propelling stage. A large, violent gust of wind stirred up and charged straight towards the sky. The sky rumbled, and the clouds dispersed right away, turning into a gigantic vortex that continuously spun in the sky.

”Wind Fusion!” Su Ming said calmly.

With his right fist still lifted in the air, he unfurled his hand, then seized the air in the direction of the sky. Immediately, the vortex in the sky grew several times its original size. Once it filled up half of the sky, it charged towards Su Ming’s right hand like a whirlwind. At that moment, wind and thunder billowed in the sky. Su Ming stood in midair, and his right hand seemed to be holding the reigns for the sky, seemed to be controlling all the wind within that vortex!

”Sun Genesis!”

The instant Su Ming uttered these two words, he flung his right hand before himself. Immediately, the wind in the vortex that had been in his control charged towards the Golden Thread Sacred Bat with a mighty momentum.

From the distance, this was a picture that could strike fear and shock in people’s hearts. In that picture, Su Ming’s hair danced in the air while he looked incredibly calm, and that scar under his eyes gave him a strange charm.

On the other hand, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s face was laden with terror. His eyes were crimson red, and his actions became even more crazed!

Between the both of them was a whirlwind that connected heaven and earth. That whirlwind was sweeping in all directions at that moment, and as it howled, it charged straight towards the Golden Thread Sacred Bat as if it wanted to drown it within.

In his madness, the Golden Thread Sacred Bat found that the shadow of death looming over him was becoming greater. He could not accept just dying here like this. As he struggled, he lifted his head and roared, then lifted both his hands, and after forming a strange seal before himself, he slammed his hands on his body. Immediately, he began trembling, and all his feathers began falling off. Once the golden feathers fell off, they turned into rays of golden light that stirred up a sharp whistle as they charged towards that whirlwind.

Once he was done, that Golden Thread Sacred Bat bit the tip of his tongue once again and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Right after that, his upper body bent downwards so that his back was pointed towards the sky. He lifted his forehead and veins popped up on his face. He looked quite ferocious as he let out a hoarse cry.

”Sacred Bats mountain bearing Art, Eternal Autumn Rain. Come forth, our origin stone monument!” As he roared, a gigantic stone monument manifested out of thin air!

That stone monument was incredibly big and was one thousand feet in size. There were multiple complicated words carved on its surface. Once it appeared, it pressed down swiftly on the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s back, making it seem as if he was carrying the stone monument!

A vast and mighty power started spreading out of the stone monument, and to resist that incoming whirlwind formed by Sun Genesis, it started slanting downwards in the direction of where the whirlwind was charging forth!

Both sides crashed into each other instantaneously. Su Ming’s wind formed through Sun Genesis came first into contact with the light formed by the endless golden feathers. Loud booming sounds shot into the sky, and those feathers completely shattered. The whirlwind swept them aside, and without stopping even for a moment, it crashed into the stone monument that was formed by the Golden Thread Sacred Bat’s divine ability.

Booming sounds swept through the entire world. Those sounds entered the Shamans’ valley, causing all the Shamans to look at the sky with trembling hearts. Those sounds then traveled further away.

The stone monument started cracking inch by inch and eventually completely shattered, but similarly, a large portion of Su Ming’s wind dissipated as that stone monument crumbled. However, that gust of wind still had power lingering within it, and it swept through the land to charge straight towards the Golden Thread Sacred Bat.

The Sacred Bat coughed out blood once again, and his body instantly shriveled up. Despair appeared in his eyes, along with a madness that screamed of ending his own life. He no longer dodged, but instead knelt down on one knee and let out the strongest howl he could muster towards the sky.

”Moon progenitor! The sacred ancestor we Sacred Bats have worshiped since ancient times! With my body of a Golden Thread Sacred Bat, I ask to borrow your power to worship the moon, and allow me to bow to you three times to perform the burning of my blood!”

As the Golden Thread Sacred Bat roared, he kowtowed once towards the nine moons in the sky.

When he kowtowed towards the moons, Su Ming’s heart shuddered, because he could clearly feel that the ninth moon among the nine moons in the sky had grown slightly larger!

”With this one bow, please borrow me the power to call forth a sea of fire that would surge into the skies and burn everything!”

The Golden Thread Sacred Bat looked as if his body could no longer endure it after kowtowing once towards the moons. From within his body, a blast of violet flames could be seen erupting forth; from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In an instant, that fire filled the entire area, turning into a sea that surged into the skies. If anyone looked up towards the sky from the ground, they would be able to clearly see that the sea of fire looked like a person’s hand!

The hand formed by the sea of fire lifted itself, and as if it contained some sort of will on its own, it pressed down on Su Ming!

’I knew it. They are indeed related to the Wings of the Moon and to the Fire Berserkers! The Fire Berserkers’ burning of blood and the Art of worshiping the blood moon nine times has truly appeared here, but… something is slightly different!’

A sharp look appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He already had his suspicions when he saw the Sacred Bats, but now, when he saw this scene right before his eyes, he became certain of his own guesses.

’Art of worshiping the moon, the Fire Berserkers’ Art… Moon progenitor?’

A cold sneer appeared on Su Ming’s lips. He retained his composure even in the face of that incoming hand made from the sea of fire. Fire Berserker? He, Su Ming, was the Fire Berserker!

He lifted his right hand, bit his finger, and pressed it against his left pupil!