Pursuit of the Truth

”Before Master left, he once looked at the sky and said something.” Second senior brother looked as if he was remembering something.

”He said… ’It’s almost time. But the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands appeared, could it be?’” Second senior brother’s eyes shone as he looked at Su Ming. ”That’s what he said. Youngest junior brother, can you find any clues based on these words?”

”It’s almost time? Then we must first know what ’time’ Master was talking about. As for him mentioning the Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands in his second sentence, it must mean that Master had associated something with it and formed some guesses because of it. The thing that he guessed is what Master did not say in his unfinished sentence,” Su Ming said slowly.

”When I was suppressed under Great Leaf Immortal Sect’s mountain, I examined these words for a long period of time. I thought back on all the words Master had spoken after I started following him, but I did not manage to find what he meant by the word ’time’. Youngest junior brother, Hu Zi, did Master ever talk to you about anything that is related to ’time’?” Second senior brother looked at Su Ming and Hu Zi.

”I can’t remember. There shouldn’t be.” Hu Zi scratched his head.

Su Ming remained silent for a moment, but couldn’t recall anything. Yet soon, a focused look appeared in his eyes, and his gaze landed on the statue that was eldest senior brother.

”Eldest senior brother was the first who mentioned that Master’s presence was no longer in the land of Berserkers, and he had even guessed it. Besides, he is the one who’s been with Master the longest, perhaps… eldest senior brother knows.”

As Su Ming spoke, second senior brother and Hu Zi also looked towards their eldest senior brother, who was now a statue.

After a period of silence, second senior brother sucked in a deep breath.

”We’ll talk about this when eldest senior brother wakes up. I’ve thought of a method to wake him on our way back. We’ll have four fifths of a chance that this method will allow eldest senior brother to wake up.” Second senior brother then looked at Hu Zi.

”Hu Zi, your level of cultivation is the lowest, but your Enter Dream is very abstruse. Try using Enter Dream to find eldest senior brother’s consciousness in the statue. His consciousness should be clouded, but even if it is, he won’t hurt you, since you are his junior brother. Once you find eldest senior brother’s consciousness, use your Enter Dream and protect his consciousness so that it won’t disappear.”

Hu Zi nodded gravely. To him, this was as important as saving his Master, and it was at a level that was even more important than his own life.

”Youngest junior brother, it’s difficult for my level of cultivation to be categorized using the Berserkers’ levels of cultivation. Based on my perception, my current combat abilities have surpassed those who have attained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm, but are still a little inferior to yours.

”Among the three of us, your level of cultivation is the greatest, and you have to do the most important task.” Second senior brother looked at Su Ming when he said those words.

Su Ming met second senior brother’s gaze, and a brilliant sparkle appeared in his eyes as he waited for his next words.

”Gather blood from Shamans’ hearts. The more you can gather, the better, especially from Shamans’ Great Patriarch. This person’s level of cultivation was extraordinary in the past, and I remember that he had reawakened during the battle between the Shamans and Berserkers. His heart’s blood is the most crucial!

”But you have to be careful of this person. When Master was at his weakest, he had fought against this person before. He had not been his opponent because this person had a talisman on him. This talisman came from Morning Dao Sect. Based on what Master said, that talisman was created from a huge portion of power that came from a Morning Dao Sect Elder’s mind. It could make the Shamans’ Great Patriarch become stronger after nine deaths!

”Based on Master’s analysis, this person is the same as him, having been taken in secretly as a disciple by those in Morning Dao Sect. He was then given the important treasure, that allowed him to reach a state of being almost indestructible.

”Every single time he wakes up, he will have nine lives, and every single time he dies, his power will increase exponentially. When he dies the ninth time, the talisman’s power will spread out in a large area, making it seem as if he died, but in truth, his body will enter deep sleep. The talisman will absorb the power of the world by itself at that time, and once it collects a certain amount, Great Patriarch will wake up again.

”This is an incredibly strange cultivation method. It fuses with the Shamans’ Spells, making the Great Patriarch into an undying and imperishable existence… He has the Shamans’ blood of Nine Li flowing through his veins, and that blood is incredibly thick in him. That’s because due to his indestructible status, he has sucked away practically all the blood from all the Nine Li Shaman Lords in the land of Shamans.

”But he won’t kill all of them. Every single time, he will leave some alone so that they will give birth to the next generation. This way, he can devour more of them. If eldest senior brother had not been saved by Master, he would have been killed by the Great Patriarch.

”When the Great Patriarch awakened from his sleep, our Master, Western Sea Clan’s Guru Li Long, and a mysterious powerful warrior fought together against him, and only together did they manage to destroy him after his ninth death.

”It’s a pity that Master’s injuries did not heal during those years, or else it would have not been so difficult for him to kill that person. It would have also not been impossible for him to search for where the Great Patriarch’s real body was hidden when he disappeared and went into deep sleep, making it difficult for Master to destroy him completely.

”Youngest junior brother, your current level of cultivation has surpassed our Master’s when he was injured. Go and kill the Great Patriarch, find where his real body is hidden, and then take his blood of Nine Li. This is the key to awakening our eldest senior brother!

”Only by using blood that is purer than our eldest senior brother’s and Hu Zi’s protection can I cast the Great Heavenly Phantom Art and lure all the Phantoms in the land of Berserkers to attack the power in the Immortals’ Enchanted Vessel, which is in our eldest senior brother’s body.

”I can’t go along with you to fight against the Great Patriarch, either. I will have to make my body disintegrate during this time to stir up the Phantoms in the land of Berserkers and make preparations to cast the Great Heavenly Phantom Art,” second senior brother said in a low voice.

Su Ming nodded without hesitation. Based on his memories, he was that mysterious person from all those years ago, so his understanding regarding the Great Patriarch was greater than that of others.

Second senior brother hesitated for a moment, then spoke up once again. ”If you can’t find the Great Patriarch’s hiding place and obtain a lot of Nine Li’s blood, then we’ll have to use the second-best option. Go to Western Sea Clan where Guru Li Long has a Shaman Dragon. That dragon once devoured some of the Great Patriarch’s blood of Nine Li while they were fighting.

”I heard that it went through a mutation later on. If you can extract that mutated blood of Nine Li, we might be able to use it. Although that blood will only have four tenths of a chance to wake our eldest senior brother, but if you can’t find the Great Patriarch’s hiding place, we’ll use it!”

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes, and he asked calmly, ”If I get both the Great Patriarch and the Shaman Dragon’s blood of Nine Li, then what will be the chances of waking our eldest senior brother?”

”If you can get both of them, then I’m certain I’ll have nine tenths of a chance to make our eldest senior brother rise from his sleep!” second senior brother said solemnly with a serious expression on his face.

Su Ming nodded. Once he cast a deep look at the statue that was his eldest senior brother, he exchanged glances with Hu Zi and his second senior brother. He saw the determination and resolve in their eyes, and his own resolve was reflected in their eyes as well.

”Err… youngest junior brother, remember to talk to Yu Xuan and borrow that mutt. With it around, no one can harm you,” second senior brother suddenly said and winked at him.

Su Ming frowned, and with a rather strange look on his face, he turned around and walked towards the place where Yu Xuan stayed.

When morning arrived, Hu Zi was sleeping soundly while hugging eldest senior brother’s statue. Second senior brother was sitting cross-legged by his side, and as his body gradually distorted, Su Ming took with him… two mutts and a woman with a clear laugh and left the ninth summit in four long arcs.

There was no way Yu Xuan would not join this sort of thing…

As for the other mutt, that was the bald crane. It suddenly felt that this form would make it look more imposing. As it flew, it even started barking to its heart’s content while feeling proud of itself.