Pursuit of the Truth

The python was entirely black, the same color as the mountain gate. If it did not move, it could be easily mistaken for an ornament on the gate. At that moment, it was staring at the trio with a cold and sinister expression. A wave of murderous aura crashed into their faces, and Su Ming could clearly sense Zhang and Zuo instantly becoming respectful.

”I, Zhang Ren, hereby greet our sacred beast of the mountain gate.”

”I, Zuo Xing Xun, hereby greet out sacred beast of the mountain gate.” The duo quickly wrapped their fists in their palms and bowed towards the black python on the door.

Su Ming was placed on the ground at that moment, and no one bothered with him anymore.

The giant python hissed as it swept its gaze past Zhang Ren and Zuo Xing Xun. Then, when its eyes fell on Su Ming, Su Ming too looked at it. His power might not have recovered, but he could still sense that the pressure of that python to him was incredibly faint. Based on his judgment, this python was only equivalent to a Berserker in the middle or later stage of the Berserker Soul Realm.

While this sort of ferocious beast might be rare, Su Ming, if his power had fully recovered, could destroy it with just one finger.

Almost at the moment the python looked towards Su Ming, it suddenly started moving at a speed that caused Zhang Ren and Zuo Xing Xun’s eyes to swim. Its body shot out from the mountain gate and its huge head appeared five feet away from Su Ming. It even stuck out its forked tongue when it hissed, which was almost touching Su Ming.

This sudden scene caused Zhang Ren and Zuo Xing Xun to be stunned, and immediately after, their expressions changed. They quickly took a few steps back, not daring to stand in the python’s way.

Even Sect Elder Zhao would need to be courteous when he saw this mountain guardian python. The two disciples might need to hand this boy to Sect Elder Zhao, but they honestly did not have any need to offend this sacred python, which was rumored to be a creature which harbored grudges for an incredibly long time.

Su Ming stood his ground and did not back down. His expression was as calm as usual, but a fierce look appeared in his eyes, and as he looked at the python staring at him, he slowly opened his mouth and said, ”Get lost!”

The moment he said those words, Zuo Xing Xun and Zhang Ren’s eyes went wide. They had brought quite a large number of people back to Evil Spirit Sect before, and all who saw this python would show respect. None of them would dare to be so disrespectful and tell the scared creature to get lost.

At that moment, there was also a huge different in the feeling Su Ming gave them, as if he had completely changed into another person.

What threw them into an even greater state of disbelief, to the point where they were completely stunned, was how the python withdrew slightly after Su Ming said those words. It hissed even more, and its eyes seemed as if they were flashing, but gradually, it started moving farther and farther back. In the end, right under Zuo Xing Xun and Zhang Ren’s dumbfounded expressions, the python retreated back to the mountain gate.

Su Ming remained calm. All ferocious beasts with this level of cultivation would possess unique intelligence. Perhaps other people would think that the words Su Ming said were normal, but the python could feel a murderous aura that made its heart tremble in fear.

From that murderous aura, it could clearly sense that this seemingly weak person was definitely not as simple as he seemed. That was the reason why it chose to slowly back down.

Since Zhang Ren and Zuo Xing Xun remained stunned, Su Ming lifted his foot and walked towards the mountain gate. Once he reached the spot behind the two of them, he paused briefly before saying flatly, ”Let’s go.”

Zuo Xing Xun and Zhang Ren’s expressions immediately turned strange when they looked at Su Ming. They took a few brisk steps forward and walked through the mountain gate to step into the territory of Evil Spirit Sect’s Outer Sect disciples. The both of them could not calm their hearts. The scene just now kept repeating in their heads.

Their gazes when they looked at Su Ming also became rather uncertain and filled with surprise. Their behavior towards him was also much better than before.

All along the way, Zhang Ren and Zuo Xing Xun’s hearts were filled with shock and surprise. In silence, they would occasionally look at Su Ming. When they reached the middle section of the mountain, which was the territory that belonged to the Outer Sect, they moved past several black halls to appear in a courtyard that was situated in a more remote area.

The courtyard was located against a mountain stone. There were three black houses there, and it was quiet all around. There was an oppressive air surrounding the entire area. At the entrance to the courtyard were two statues.

They looked rather similar to the statues on the way up the stairs. There were also vengeful souls surrounding them, causing the courtyard to look even more eerie.

It was especially so for the area above. That place was where the smoke was spreading out from Evil Spirit Sect. Because of that, the sunshine on this mountain was constantly dim, and it would never be bright, giving this place an even colder and more sinister feeling.

Zhang Ren and Zuo Xing Xun stopped outside the courtyard and wrapped their fists in their palms before they bowed deeply towards the courtyard.

”I, Zhang Ren, hereby greet Sect Elder Zhao.”

”I, Zuo Xing Xun, hereby greet Sect Elder Zhao. We’ve brought the child from Chen’s family. This person is junior brother Chen’s younger brother, Chen Su.” Zhang Ren and Zuo Xing Xun bowed down respectfully and did not dare raise their heads.

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He also lowered his head, then wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed.

He was not too worried about his own safety. Unless he ran into powerful enemies like Di Tian, then even if he ran into those who had gained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm, he would still be able to fight against them if he recovered.

He might only have recovered a tenth of his cultivation base, but he had been observing his own body during the past year, and he had noticed that all his Berserker Bones were still within him. They were all dim though, as if they were covered by a layer of dust. Yet even so, his body was still as sturdy as it was previously. It would be difficult for anyone to try and injure him.

More importantly, his divine sense had recovered a little, and he could open up his storage bag. The small snake might still be in deep sleep and not show any signs of waking up anytime soon, and the crimson dragon be in the same state, but he could already use Han Mountain Bell.

This treasure might be damaged, but its might when activated was still something that should not be taken lightly.

As for the bald crane… Su Ming had not seen it since he woke up, which would mean that it had most likely ran away during the chaos because of its timid nature.

While Su Ming could still protect himself with his current abilities combined with his Enchanted Treasures and the strength of his physical body, he would still choose not to attack if he could. After all, what was most important to him at the moment was to recover his cultivation base as quickly as possible.

’I might not know what is this Sect Elder Zhao’s goal, but he won’t be thinking about hurting me just yet, not when he thinks I’m a member of the Chen family, or else he wouldn’t have needed to go through the trouble of asking someone to bring me here. He would have just needed to go down the mountain once and would have easily dealt with everything once and for all.’

With his experience, once Su Ming gave a brief onceover towards this matter, he could already guess most of what was happening.

At that moment, a hoarse voice came from the courtyard. It was incredibly ghastly, and when it traveled outwards, it caused the cold air around the trio to become so much thicker that the vengeful souls shuddered as well.

”Leave him here. You two can leave now.”

Zhang Ren and Zuo Xing Xun quickly obeyed and left the area. When they were far away from the courtyard, the both of them wiped the cold sweat on their faces. They cast a glance behind them, then looked at each other.

”How we live and die is already predestined, and our fate depends on heaven itself. We can’t do anything about this, we’re just obeying orders…” Zhang Ren shook his head.

Zuo Xing Xun agreed to this, but after a moment of hesitation, he spoke in a low voice. ”That’s right. This has nothing to do with us. If Sect Elder Zhao dies, it’s also because of him… Senior brother Zhang, do you think that Chen… Is he really a sage and a senior who went into hiding?”

”Quiet! This has nothing to do with us!” Zhang Ren immediately shouted lowly with a nervous expression on his face. He grabbed Zuo Xing Xun and took a couple more steps forward before he spoke again in a low voice.

”He should be. Didn’t you see how cautious the sacred python was? When have you seen that old thing being so nice before…? This isn’t something we can interfere with. We should keep this to ourselves and let it rot in our hearts. We can’t tell anyone, or else we might end up offending others.”

”Yeah. Thank goodness no one else knows what is going on with this… but… but there were quite a number of people who saw him on our way here, especially senior brother Shan… Oh, right, you’re still holding onto his Soul Flesh.”

”We have to form a single story about this matter. You don’t have anything to do, right? Come, let’s talk at my place.”

When Zhang Ren heard about that Soul Flesh, a pained look immediately appeared on his face. He scanned the area for a moment before he grabbed Zuo Xing Ren and left swiftly.

Su Ming near the statues and lifted his head. He looked at the courtyard. It was not big, and there was black smoke seeping out from the ground at the moment. They turned into ferocious shadows in midair, and once they dissipated, they were absorbed by the ground. The process repeated itself, causing all those who saw it to be stunned by this strange sight.

When Su Ming looked towards the courtyard, the gate opened by itself without a single sound.

Su Ming did not make a sound. After waiting for a moment, he walked into the opened gate slowly. At the instant he entered the courtyard, the gate behind him closed automatically.

”Your courage isn’t too bad. You’re just like your older brother when he first came here. This is precisely the quality I want for my disciple!” The moment the gate to the courtyard closed, a hoarse voice reverberated in the air.

”I am Zhao Chong, and I had three disciples, but they all died. Your brother was my third disciple and was also the one I was most pleased with. Before he died, I promised him that I will send his belongings and money back to his family, and he also asked me to accept his brother or sister as my disciple.

”From now on, you are my fourth disciple!”

”You have the constitution of a Berserker, so you aren’t suited to practice my Evil Spirit Arts. A year later, I’ll send you to the Evil Pool to wash away your Berserker blood, and from then on, you can practice Evil Sect’s divine abilities.

”But if you don’t want to die in the Evil Pool, then you must take in Evil Grudge Cores… These core will allow your body to absorb grudges, and you’ll be able to build your foundation from there.” Once the hoarse voice said these words, a gourd flew out from the house in the middle.

The gourd was black. It was exuding black smoke, which formed into the face of a ghost at times. Mortals would not be able to see it, but Su Ming could see it clearly.

The gourd flew to the area before him and fell to the ground.

”The house to the right is your house. You can go there now!” Once the hoarse voice said these words, it didn’t speak anymore.

Su Ming picked up the gourd without batting an eye and walked to the house to the right.

’Did he use Chen Da Xi to create a core?’

Su Ming pushed open the door to the house, and cast a glance at the house in the middle through the corner of his eye. His divine sense had yet to recover enough, or else he would have definitely taken a look at just how that Sect Elder Zhao looked.