Pursuit of the Truth

Tian Lin remained silent in the air. He had sensed Su Ming going into isolation a year ago, and because of his isolation and his act of gaining his epiphany, Tian Lin’s original intention of searching for him for a talk was pushed back. When he sensed that Su Ming had come out of his isolation and left his spot, Tian Lin had walked out of his forest in the western region and come to this place based on what he could sense of the other’s presence.

He had come here a few days ago, but he had never showed himself, because the things he saw brought shock and apprehension to his heart. The same thought as Yue Hong Bang’s formed in his head. He did not believe that Su Ming was a person from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, and that thought took shape because of the mask that would occasionally appear on Su Ming’s face.

In his eyes, the mask was clearly a powerful torture device, and only the first generation criminals who were banished to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence from the four Great True Worlds would be in possession of a torture device.

This was the punishment from the four Great True Worlds. It was a way to suppress these criminals’ power and also make them suffer while leaving them to their own devices in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.

When he saw the mask on Su Ming’s face, a large portion of the slight hesitation Tian Lin still harbored to talk about his plans with Su Ming instantly vanished. He had a feeling that he had eight-tenths of a chance to lead of Su Ming’s origins.

At that moment, his breathing gradually calmed down. The scene just now had momentarily filled his heart with fear, and he had become wary of Su Ming’s divine ability. He was different from Mei Lan, in that. He had never underestimated Su Ming. On the contrary, he regarded him extremely highly in his heart.

”Fellow Daoist Su, your divine abilities are mysterious and profound, I cannot hope to compare to you. Now, after seeing the Art you possess, I’m even more eager to invite you to join my quest.” Tian Lin smiled faintly as he descended to stand before Su Ming.

”Sit.” Su Ming’s expression remained as impassive as ever as he sat on the ground. His body was slowly recovering from its weakness, and his expression grew colder as his body recovered. The light in his eyes shone with heartlessness. At that moment, Su Ming looked even colder than before he experienced his third change of heart.

With a smile on his lips, Tian Lin sat down and looked at Su Ming, then suddenly said, ”Fellow Daoist Su, are you perhaps interested in the power of World Planes?”

”What do you mean?” Su Ming’s expression remained the same, and his voice was flat.

”I know of a place that can provide incredibly thick power of World Planes, but that place is very dangerous…” The smile remained on Tian Lin’s face.

”I have yet to reach the state of being a Lord of a World Plane, hence I am not interested in the power of World Planes.” Su Ming shook his head.

Tian Lin was momentarily stunned. He did not expect that Su Ming would reject him so bluntly and thoroughly. He frowned and sized up this youth before he spoke once again.

”Fellow Daoist Su, you’re being humble. You have plenty of mysteries surrounding your person, but there is no way I would believe that you have yet to reach the status of World Paragon.” Tian Lin laughed, and a brilliant light shone in his eyes.

”But if you aren’t interested in the power of World Paragons, fellow Daoist Su, then would you perhaps be interested in the Crimson Flame Stone, which possesses even greater physical power?”

Su Ming cast Tian Lin a look.

”Fellow Daoist Su, don’t be in such a hurry to reject my offer, please spare some time to listen to my words. There might be plenty of these blue stones in Crimson Flame Planet, and they might exist in every region here… but the physical power contained within these blue stones is far inferior to the stone in the place which I spoke of.

”No one has been able to absorb the physical power contained within it, but I’ve been observing you, fellow Daoist Su, and I found that you are… very interested in these stones. This is the first reason!” Tian Lin’s eyes burned brightly as he looked at Su Ming. There was a slightly solemn expression on his face when he spoke again.

”The second reason is that True Guards come patrolling Crimson Flame Planet once every ten years. At that time, they will examine closely whether all the seals in Crimson Flame Planet are still in perfect condition. Any damage, no matter how small it is, will cause the True Guards to descend to the planet to investigate it.

”Fellow Daoist Su, you’ve opened the seal around the region of the Crimson Python Phoenix. Even if the creature will be placed back within the seal, there will still be some hints of its escape, and there is a high possibility that it will be discovered by the True Guards… Once they discover this, which to those in the four Great True Worlds is the most grievous matter in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, then even if you leave and run far away, you will still be chased down by the True Guards. They will issue an arrest warrant for you, and even offer a reward for your head. There is less than eight years till then.”

Tian Lin looked at Su Ming as he spoke. Once he finished saying these words, he did not say anything else. He knew that Su Ming was an intelligent man, and it was only natural that he would be able to discern the truth of his words, as well as the consequences of his actions.

”Please get straight to the point, fellow Daoist Tian.” Tian Lin was unable to find any clues from Su Ming’s expression. Just as he contemplated his next move, Su Ming’s aloof voice reached his ears.

Once Tian Lin heard Su Ming’s words, a smile appeared on his face.

”Alright, then I will voice my thoughts. Fellow Daoist Su, you must certainly know that there is a member of an alien race that has been sealed within each of the depleted cultivation planets for a countless number of years!

”Even the powerful warriors of the four Great True Worlds found it difficult to kill these members of the alien races, that’s why they chose to seal them up. There might be other reasons for it, but I don’t know about them.

”It’s said that Crimson Flame Planet has a renowned mighty cultivator from the alien race sealed up within it. Back when the alien race fought against the four Great True Worlds, he was known as the Duke of Crimson Flame!

”This person has been sealed in Crimson Flame Planet from the very start. His power was forced to spread out, and it formed the various volcanoes in the planet. His life was forced to spread out, and the ferocious beasts from the alien races absorbed it so they would not die once the four Great True Worlds sealed them up and wiped away their intelligence… Fellow Daoist Su, your Crimson Python Phoenix is one of the ferocious beasts from the alien races.

”And as the seal continued corroding this mighty cultivator’s flesh and blood, it formed the blue stones that filled the land over the countless years. This is also the origin of the Crimson Flame Stones I spoke about just now.” Tian Lin’s words echoed in the air.

Su Ming’s expression might have seemed normal, but his heart was in shock. He might not know whether Tian Lin’s words were real, but this was not something that was difficult to verify. There was really no need for Tian Lin to lie to him about this.

”Within the depths of the land, in the area where the Duke of Crimson Flame is sealed, there is a large amount of power that belongs to World Planes, and even those in Plane Kalpa. If we could absorb it, then our levels of cultivation would definitely increase exponentially!

”Fellow Daoist Su, if you go there and absorb all the power of the Duke of Crimson Flame’s flesh and blood, then the power contained within your flesh and blood will reach an incredibly powerful state.

”I know that you must surely have some queries in your heart. If these members of the alien races are sealed within Crimson Flame Planet and all the other cultivation planets in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, then why have I never taken any action beforehand but only chose to say these words after you came to this place?” A bright light shone in Tian Lin’s eyes. His voice spread out as he pointed at the Crimson Python Phoenix at the foot of the mountain.

”Fellow Daoist Su, if you can make a ferocious beast from an alien race leave the seal, then you must surely be able to make all the ferocious beasts in Crimson Flame Planet move out of their seals. If you can do this, then we’ll have five-tenths of a chance to enter the place where the Duke of Crimson Flame is sealed!

”At that time, both of us will obtain some benefits. And no matter how weak he is, there is no possible way that a mighty cultivator like the Duke of Crimson Flame would die. Besides, if we judge the time properly, when the True Guards arrive, we can help him escape. To the True Guards, the Duke of Crimson Flame is the one who really holds their attention. We’re just small fry. This is a win-win situation. Fellow Daoist Su, are you willing to do this?

”Once your physical power becomes even greater and we obtain our rewards and benefits, then why should we worry even if we are chased down by the True Guards and are issued arrest warrants?

”Besides, since there is no way we can avoid being chased down and issued arrest warrants, then why don’t we try to get ourselves the greatest amount of benefits possible beforehand?!” Tian Lin’s words showed that his thought processes were incredibly clear. His words, too, possessed great, persuasive power. Once he finished saying these things, he waited quietly for Su Ming’s answer.

Su Ming remained in contemplative silence for a moment before he looked at Tian Lin and said slowly, ”Judging by your words, it seems like we aren’t the only people who will be involved in this.”

”That’s right. As long as you are certain you can open the seals and promise to do this, then I will immediately gather some of my good friends to work on this!” Tian Lin sucked in a deep breath and stood up to bow towards Su Ming. His expression was incredibly sincere.

”Fellow Daoist Su, you possess the power to break seals. This is a blessing to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence and a fortune for us cultivators. Please help us!”

Su Ming remained in pensive silence for a moment before he looked at Tian Lin and said, ”This will affect many things. I will need to think about this for some time. I cannot give you an answer immediately.”

”Of course. That is naturally what one should do.”

If Su Ming had immediately answered, then Tian Lin would have had suspicions. In his eyes, it was simply impossible for Su Ming to immediately agree to this matter. After all, there were too many things that would be affected by this.

At that instant, when he heard Su Ming’s words after that slight pause, he knew that Su Ming had already been moved by his offer, which was why he did not continue trying to persuade him. Instead, he lifted his right hand and seized the air. A storage bag immediately appeared in his hand, and he handed it over to Su Ming.

”Brother Su, it doesn’t matter what you choose in the end, I will still give you a small gift. Over the past year, I’ve moved through all the regions in Crimson Flame Planet except the northern region to gather all the blue Crimson Flame Stones in those places. If you wanted them, brother Su, you could have easily obtained them, but please accept this as a slight show of my sincerity.” Tian Lin wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming.

”Brother Su, will I be able to obtain an answer in a year?”

”I will definitely give you an answer a year later!” Su Ming stood up and also wrapped his fist in his palm towards Tian Lin.

”I look forward to good news. This is a jade slip that will transfer sound. No matter what your choice is, please tell me your answer using this item one year later, brother Su.” Tian Lin let out a hearty laugh before he gave Su Ming a jade slip. Then, he turned around and disappeared without a trace.

Su Ming watched Tian Lin leave into the distance. He stood still and silent for a moment, then picked up the storage bag and opened it. He scanned it with his divine sense and his Atman and found blue stones piled into several mountains.

This bag with its incredibly large storage capacity alone was already no ordinary item. The ’small gift’ Tian Lin had given to him was, in fact, not small at all!

A variety of expressions flickered through Su Ming’s face. After some time, he walked into the cave abode at the top of the ninth summit with the storage bag and stayed there. In the blink of an eye, a year passed. On this day, a large amount of blue stones was rapidly shattering before Su Ming as he sat in the cave abode. As he absorbed the physical power contained within them, his eyes sparkled with a brilliant light.

’Tian Lin is definitely hiding something. There’s no way this matter is as simple as it sounds. But…’ Su Ming cast a glance at the shattered blue stones before his eyes.

’Power is everything in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. Since it’s difficult for me to swiftly increase my level of cultivation and I have a chance to increase my physical strength lying right before my eyes, then even if it’s dangerous… I will still take up this challenge!’

Su Ming’s eyes flew up, and a resolute look appeared within them. He had lived in danger for most of his life, and he knew since a long time ago that fortune came from danger. If he hesitated and tried running away when trouble arose, then it would be impossible for him to obtain great serendipity.

After some time, a jade slip turned into a long arc. Abruptly. it was engulfed in flames, and a ray of sunlight erupted from it. Then, in the blink of an eye, it charged toward the world in the distance.