Pursuit of the Truth

”Inner Sect and Outer Sect Evil Spirit disciples as well as all Sect Elders. Today, at dawn, gather a half of our manpower and follow me… to attack Hidden Dragon Sect!”

Shen Dong swept his gaze across the mountain and paused for a moment at the double-story building where Su Ming was meditating before his words tumbled slowly out of his mouth. His words reverberated in the entire Evil Spirit Sect, causing all those who heard it to feel their blood boiling. A murderous aura erupted swiftly among them.

”The old rules apply. If you kill a person, you will own seven-tenths of the things they owned, and it is the same for the things you snatch!”

Shen Dong’s voice reverberated outside the building. That one glance he cast towards the building just now had seemed to clash with Su Ming’s gaze, causing the latter’s pupils to shrink, but at that moment, Shen Dong averted his gaze.

’Shen Dong…’ Su Ming narrowed his eyes. He had underestimated that person slightly. He might not have truly discovered him with that one glance just now, but he must have discovered some clues.

But Shen Dong had tolerated this till now. He might have his suspicions, but he had not done anything extreme or investigated anything. Even that glance he had just thrown in this direction was short, and without a hint of animosity.

Su Ming had not come into contact with Evil Spirit Sect’s Grand Sect Elder before, but from this alone, he could tell that Shen Dong was a very calculative man, and he was definitely not an ordinary person.

’If he can become the leader of a sect, then his level of cultivation is definitely at the Immortals’ Ascendant Stage. He must also have great intelligence and canniness.’ Su Ming closed his mind and continued immersing himself in his training.

With his current level of cultivation, he could already fight against Shen Dong without being disadvantaged. That was why he was not worried that Grand Sect Elder might discover any clues about him. If worst comes to worst… Su Ming could leave Evil Spirit Sect and search for other places as an isolation grounds, even though it might be a little troublesome.

He had also considered Shen Dong just reporting him to Evil Immortal Sect or telling about him to the strongest person in Evil Sect - Ji An. But even if the Grand Sect Elder truly reported this before he investigated it fully, Su Ming believed that with his current level of cultivation, it would still not be easy for Ji An to kill him!

Especially when they were now in the critical stage where the Eastern Wastelands Tower had appeared!

’The enemy of my enemy can become my friend…’ Su Ming’s expression was calm as he continued training.

Once Shen Dong finished his speech, the Evil Spirit Sect made a series of arrangements. Orders after orders were sent from the Inner Sect, and its disciples who received those orders walked out of their houses to gather at the spot they were assigned to at the appointed time.

It was the same for those in the Outer Sect. After all, most of the Berserkers who had changed their blood inheritance were in the Outer Sect. As these people gathered together, it could be seen that quite a large number of people had received the order.

In fact, when Bao Qiu returned during that night, she handed Su Ming a jade sli, top.

”Qian Chen from the laborers’ lodge at the foot of the mountain gave you this jade slip. This is the Outer Sect’s summoning order… Congratulations for being summoned back to the Outer Sect, master.” Bao Qiu chuckled lightly.

Su Ming opened his eyes, and in the end, placed the jade slip by his side.

”Looks like I will be able to head out with you this time, master. I’ve also received an order. Tonight, at dawn, I’m supposed to head to Thousand River Valley and destroy Hidden Dragon Sect’s branch in the eastern section of Eastern Wastelands.

”The other Evil Sects must also have received their orders. Over the next few days, they will completely wipe out all the Immortal sects in the eastern section of the continent.” As Bao Qiu spoke in a soft voice, she sat down before Su Ming and twirled a lock of her hair with her fingers.

”Most of the Outer Sect disciples’ level of cultivation is low. Will they be useful when destroying Hidden Dragon Sect’s branch?” Su Ming frowned.

”They can be used during Blood Sacrifice. Clearly, you’ll been treated as a target for this Blood Sacrifice,” Bao Qiu said with a smile and winked. She thought it was highly interesting that a powerful warrior like Su Ming would be treated as a target for Blood Sacrifice by those in the Outer Sect.

”However, this is also a good thing for you, master. If you have time, you can go there. Hidden Dragon Sect is skilled with creating medicinal cores, and they are famous for it among us Immortals… Besides, when we attack, the laws of Evil Sect depict that we can obtain a seven-tenths of the spoils from our kills. I already have very few medicinal cores left, and the ones I gave you over the past few days were given to me because of war preparations.

”Master, with your level of cultivation, you will definitely be able to sweep through Hidden Dragon Sect’s branch without anyone noticing you… At that time, please do give me some on behalf of me offering you all those medicinal cores during these days.” Bao Qiu winked, and her smile turned even sweeter. Anticipation shone in her eyes, and there was even a hint of excitement within them.

”I can also lead the way. I went to this branch before…” As Bao Qiu spoke, she licked her lips. She was originally beautiful to begin with, and when she did this, she became even more attractive.

Su Ming fell into a moment of pensive silence, then nodded.

Medicinal cores could serve him in many ways, and more importantly, there might be some medicinal herbs within Hidden Dragon Sect’s branch. If he could gather up a large amount, then he would suffer fewer drawbacks when he searched for ingredients to open the subsequent door in the fragment’s dimension.

However, these were not what mattered most. The most important thing for him to go to this place would be because he had already recovered more than eight-tenths of his cultivation base, and he was very close to reaching nine-tenths. At that time, he would have already surpassed the pinnacle of his condition in the past, and he would be able to cast the Secret Art he had inherited from Hong Luo, albeit with much difficulty.

Extract Earthen Aura and gather it together to turn it into a soul!

However, he would not be extracting Earthen Aura, but would be drawing out spirit veins. He would gather them up into a dense amount of power from the world, and once he devoured them, his recovery speed would instantly increase by a large margin.

It was not convenient for him to do such a thing here, because Evil Spirit Sect was his temporary lodging. However, the mountain in which Hidden Dragon Sect had chosen to set up its branch would definitely have a Spirit Vein. There might not be much, but if Su Ming absorbed it, it would be still be good for him.

However, there were also drawbacks to such a thing. Since he would do a forceful absorption, it would turn into an underlying problem, and he would need to solve it by entering isolation in the future.

In truth, even if Evil Spirit Sect had not been ordered to destroy Hidden Dragon Sect’s branch, Su Ming had already thought about going out to absorb this Spirit Vein so that it would take him less than half a year to reach the pinnacle of his condition from where he could try to reach the Berserker Soul Realm.

This was the most important thing to him at the moment.

Dawn was about to arrive. Not a single sound could be heard from the entire Evil Spirit Sect. There were thirty something Evil Sect disciples in the Inner Sect’s square, and they were all waiting there silently. These people were all the ones who were given all the attention in terms of teaching and growth within Evil Spirit Sect. Hen Shan was also among them.

An eerie, chilling air surrounded the square in the Inner Sect. The sky was dark, and it was a night without the moon.

There was also a huge square in the Outer Sect, and there were about two hundred something people standing there closely together at that moment. These people’s attitudes varied greatly. Some of them were waiting silently, some were pale in fright, and there were also some who had killing intent evident on their faces as their blood boiled. All sorts of expressions could be seen on different people.

Su Ming stood in a corner. His current appearance was still that of a thirteen to fourteen year old boy. His face was pale, and he gave off a sense of frailness to all those who saw him.

He was not alone. Right beside him was Qian Chen, who had hurried towards him from the crowd just now. Qian Chen was trembling, and when he looked at Su Ming, an obsequious expression appeared on his face.

”Senior, you have to help me… I… I don’t want to die there.”

Qian Chen had uttered similar words and all sorts of flattering phrases just now. He had not expected that he would also receive the order to participate in this battle.

In the midst of his fear, he placed his hopes on Su Ming, and even instinctively mobilized his power as a laborer over the years to receive a large amount of promises for protection within the Outer Sect.

However, he was still worried. Hence he returned to Su Ming’s side and started pleading him for his protection again.

Su Ming did not speak and closed his eyes, as if he was dozing off. Before long, as Qian Chen continued pleading for protection, dawn arrived!

At that moment, the area around them instantly turned silent. Right before their eyes, the black smoke disappeared without trace from the top of Evil Spirit Mountain, a rare sight. At the same time, nine figures flew out from the top of the mountain, and the person in the lead was Evil Spirit Sect’s Grand Sect Elder, Shen Dong!

Bao Qiu was also among the nine!

Su Ming opened his eyes. As he looked towards the sky with a calm gaze, Shen Dong swept his gaze across the land. When he looked away, he only said, ”When Evil Sect rains down slaughter…”

”We leave no one alive!” the Inner Sect and a large amount of people from the Outer Sect shouted at the same time. Within this silent night, their voices reverberated in the air in so loudly that they shook the sky and earth. Those voices were filled with raging killing intent and also a trace of madness.

This was the Evil Sect!

With a step, Shen Dong charged towards the west. The eight people behind him followed suit, and soon after, thirty something long arcs flew up with a whistle from the square in Evil Spirit Sect’s Inner Sect. They charged towards the west right behind those eight people.

Soon after, eight old men at the edge of the square in the Outer Sect, who had remained silent all along, lifted their hands, and with a swing, as loud rumbling sounds reverberated in the air, the entire square within the Outer Sect started trembling like a huge bowl. Then, with the hundreds of people on it, it slowly rose into the sky and charged forward, right behind the thirty something people from the Inner Sect.

Violent gusts of wind ripped through the air and blew on everyone’s bodies, causing some of the hundreds of people on the flying Enchanted Vessel that looked like a square to immediately fall down. They kept a firm grip on the ground, looking like if they did not do so, they would be blown off the Enchanted Vessel by that gust of wind.

Fortunately, this feeling only lasted an instant. After a moment, a gentle screen of light appeared around them, and wind gradually disappeared, to which the crowd let out a breath of relief. All of their faces were pale, and some of those with incredibly low levels of cultivation even almost threw up.

Qian Chen was one of them. He was trembling, and he was mumbling under his breath with a pale face. Su Ming would have originally not listened to him, but the man was right beside him, so he could not help but hear some of his words.

”All deities everywhere, my brother, my sister, my uncles, my aunties, father, mother… please protect me so that I won’t get injured or killed. Please help me so that I’ll be able to get myself some treasures this time, please guide me so that I’ll be able to get myself a woman.Please lead me…”

Su Ming closed his eyes, ignoring Qian Chen’s nonsensical babble all along the way. After about an hour, a huge mountain valley appeared before them in the night. There were rivers in that valley, and the rushing sounds of flowing water could be faintly heard from within. The rivers there numbered to several hundreds, and none of them ended up connecting to each other. Water was flowing down all of them at the same time.

This was Thousand River Valley.

Su Ming opened his eyes. His expression was calm, but a freezing glint shone in his eyes.

He saw a hanging bridge connecting both sides of that Thousand River Valley, and at the top of the mountains on either side of the hanging bridge was a large amount of beautiful buildings. Lights could be seen shining among them in the dark night.

It was dark, and there was no moon in the sky. It was the perfect night to kill, pillage, and burn!