Pursuit of the Truth

The Abyss Dragon let out a sad cry. It was exhausted, with little strength left in its body. After it had all of its power taken from it, its life after it was sent to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence had been filled with hardships during these past one thousand years. In fact, there were even a few times when it had nearly died because it was severely wounded.

It if was not because it still had some of its physical power left and the other Abyss Dragons going against the wills of their Progenitor and True Sacred Yin World by leaving it some methods to defend itself when it was banished to this place, it would have died a long time ago.

After all, the Dragon Tendon which gathered all its Qi and allowed it to possess great physical strength had been extracted from its body. Without the Dragon Tendon, it was as if it had been reduced from a dragon to a snake, and it had lost everything.

As of then, it could only bring out power that was equivalent to those in Man Cultivation Realm, and this was due to its people helping it in secret. During the thousand years, it struggled to live in agony, and from its initial refusal to yield, it had descended into despair.

The repeated escapes and roars at the heavens when it was alone filled its heart with madness and hatred. This madness was not against Yu Xuan, and the hate was not aimed at the Berserkers in Yin Death Region, but was instead… aimed towards the Emperor of Abyss’ True World… as well as the Abyss Dragons’ Progenitor.

The dragon had risked death to bring Yu Xuan back, but had ended up in this state. It was loyal to the Abyss Dragons, but had its Dragon Tendon taken from its body. It was a creature that had prided itself for being a part of the Emperor of Abyss’ True World, but had its power completely abrogated by that same Emperor of Abyss’ True World.

It hated them!

Yet aside from hating them, it could do nothing else, because it did not have sufficient power. With a level of cultivation that was only equivalent to those in Man Cultivation Realm, it did not have enough strength to protect itself in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, and since it had lost its Dragon Tendon, its level of cultivation had not increased during these one thousand years… no matter how hard it tried.

It could only have its life run its course in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.

If it was not a dragon, then perhaps things would have been slightly better, perhaps things could still change and it would not have ended up this way. However, it could not transform and could only appear as a pathetic Abyss Dragon, and this, to many people in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, meant that its body was full of treasures.

Its flesh could provide nourishment to all those that ate it; its scales could be turned into an armor if someone gathered them together and fused their power or could be turned into Enchanted Treasure; its blood had the power of a spirit stone once it was dried; and its organs were the greatest supplement to cultivators.

Its bones were even more precious, for they could be turned into extremely powerful Enchanted Vessels.

Its brain could allow others to learn the Abyssal World’s Arts if they gained an epiphany through it.

In fact, even its soul had its uses. If it was refined by a powerful warrior, it could be sealed in an Enchanted Treasure and turned into a Vessel Spirit.

It was a miracle that this Abyss Dragon that had no power to protect itself could survive for a thousand years.

During this time, the Abyss Dragon had thought about dying many times. From its initial fear and despair, it had gradually become apathetic, and in the end, death and living lost their importance to it. Compared to living in agony like this, it would be better to just die and gain freedom.

However, when such thoughts befell it, it always remembered the Abyss Dragon that helped it by quickly telling something before the banishment took place. There were numerous alien races within the galaxy behind Black Ink Planet. However… there was also a serendipity there that could turn something decaying into something miraculous. If there was a place which could allow its cultivation base to be restored in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence… it would only be Divine Essence Star Ocean!

That was why during these one thousand years, the dragon had continued flying without stop, wanting to reach Black Ink Planet and head to Divine Essence Star Ocean.

However, all of this had now turned into a mere dream.

Yet there was still unwillingness to admit defeat in the depths of its heart. This refusal to give in was an obsession that not even time managed to take away. The dragon hated the Emperor of Abyss’ True World and wanted to take revenge on that world. It wanted to return to the Abyss Dragons and win against the Abyss Dragons’ Progenitor.

It also wanted… to meet its young mistress once more and hear her call its name.

However, it knew that this was impossible. Forget even being able to leave the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, this disaster of being chased by the cultivators alone was something it could not escape from.

The howling behind it continued nonstop. The weird shouts and killing intent had locked onto the dragon firmly. Its speed was not fast to begin with, and the people behind it had those moths under their feet. It… could not escape.

Its will gradually became clouded. The pain in its body made it unable to tell the source of the pain. It was as if there was not a single part in its body that did not ache. As blood poured from its body, the strange yells from the cultivators behind it became something that urged it forward, the echoes of the bells especially sounded as if they brought death in their wake.

The dragon still remembered that it had only wanted to rest for a little while when it passed by a floating group of meteors in the galaxy three days ago. It had not shown any ill-will, but the meteors actually served as a cave abode for a group of cultivators. When they appeared with those moths under their feet, the Abyss Dragon had even degraded itself by trying to curry their favor while begging to leave.

Yet what it got in exchange was a chase after its life that lasted for three days. It could tell from the desire and murderous light in the pursuers’ eyes that they… had recognized that it was an Abyss Dragon, and they… wanted to devour it alive.

There were four Lords of World Planes among these cultivators and there was even one who was at the middle stage of World Plane Realm. Even when the Abyss Dragon was at the peak of its condition, it had never reached this state. When it was in Yin Death Region, it had only attained completion in the initial stage of World Plane Realm. With its cultivation base and its physical body of an Abyss Dragon, it could have somewhat put up a fight against those in the middle stage of World Plane Realm, but it could not have won against them.

However, the powerful warrior in the middle stage of World Plane Realm had not personally joined in the chase. Instead, the other three cultivators in the initial stage of World Plane Realm had led nearly one hundred cultivators and initiated this hunt for its life that lasted for three days.

In truth, the Abyss Dragon could sense that they did not really need nearly one hundred people to chase it down. Any one of the three cultivators in the initial stage of World Plane Realm could kill it within an instant. In fact… most of the one hundred people could do so as well.

However… they did not do it. Instead, it was as if they were intentionally toying with it. They only chased after and forced it to continuously flee, so it would use up its strength. At this point, the dragon was like a dying ember, only instinctively escaping forward. It had already lost all power to fight back.

The strange cries in its ears sounded like mocking laughter. The bell chimes were like an illusion that made the Abyss Dragon’s consciousness become increasingly more clouded.

Wherever it went, blood would spill into the galaxy. Its vision blurred, and its eyes were about to fall shut at any moment. The howling sounds were closing in from behind. Whenever its blood spilled, someone from the near one hundred cultivators would immediately fly out and use a jade bottle to pick it up.

Laughter came from the near one hundred cultivators behind the Abyss Dragon. The laughing was a young man who had just collected the dragon’s blood, and he said with mirth towards the woman in front, who had the bells tied to her wrist. ”Lady Yu Luo, the Abyss Dragon’s consciousness is about to scatter. The hunt this time was very interesting.”

”Abyss Dragons are incredibly precious in the Emperor of Abyss’ True World, so it’s difficult to find any who would venture out, much less enter the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. It must have offended the influential powers in the Emperor of Abyss’ True World and was banished to this place.”

”That’s right, it only has power equivalent to those in Man Cultivation Realm. During these three days, it was easy to see that its Dragon Tendon had been taken away. It’s the same as a piece of trash.”

”Haha! This isn’t an Abyss Dragon, it’s just a big snake. Lady Yu Luo, you’re wise indeed. You made this snake continue running so its blood would circulate and the effect from each drop that spilled would be better than if we extracted it forcefully. In fact, this sort of chase would force its consciousness to fade, and it’ll become even easier for you to control it and refine it into a flying Enchanted Vessel. In the future, it’ll be much easier for us to head out.”

Laughter rang in space. The near one hundred cultivators saw that the Abyss Dragon’s speed had slowed down, and they knew that the dragon had reached its limit.

The woman in front of the crowd had a prideful look on her face. She swung the bells on her wrist, and with a glint in her eyes, she looked towards the cultivators around her. She was the one who had discovered the dragon, and she had also suggested the plan to toy with it while chasing after it. By the looks of it, her plan was very effective.

”We’ll chase it around for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, since the Abyss Dragon’s soul is about to fade away. At that time, we’ll use the Secret Art and gather its soul in its body. Then, it’ll be much easier to search through its soul.”

Excitement appeared in the woman’s eyes. She did not bother about the dragon’s blood or any Enchanted Vessels. What she cared about was the Abyss Dragon’s memories. Ever since she was born, she had been in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence and longed to go to the four Great True Worlds. However, all the people around her were the same and had never left the Barren Lands of Divine Essence before. However, the Abyss Dragon should have been banished to this place. If that was the case, then the sights of the world outside should be contained within the memories in its soul.

That was what made her curious.

”Young mistress, we can’t fool around anymore. That old monster Xuan Yi’s territory lies ahead. The Progenitor has stated before that we are not allowed to enter other people’s territory.” Just as the woman became excited, one of the two middle-aged men who had been following silently behind her all this while spoke flatly.

These two people were in the initial stage of World Plane Realm, just like the woman. However, the feeling they gave others was as if they had gone through perilous battles, and there were hints of murderous aura surrounding them.

The woman might be unwilling, but after a moment of hesitation, she could only nod in resignation. She shook her wrist, and the bell chimes immediately rang loudly. The speed of the near one hundred cultivators behind her instantly increased exponentially, and they surpassed the Abyss Dragon and surrounded it.

”The hunt has ended. Kill the dragon and preserve its soul properly!” the woman said coldly. In her eyes were excitement and cruelty.

The sounds of affirmation rang out around her, and greed appeared in the eyes of the cultivators. The Abyss Dragon had already turned into an ingredient that they could eat to increase their levels of cultivation. At that moment, with a single shout, they spread out.

The Abyss Dragon’s consciousness had already become clouded. It knew that it was about to die. It might be unwilling to… but there was nothing it could do.

As it laughed brokenly, it closed its eyes, but at the instant they fell shut, a gentle voice immediately echoed in its soul.

”Xiao Huang…”

At the instant the voice reached its soul, a violent shudder wrecked through its body. It trembled incredibly furiously, and even its soul began trembling. Its fading consciousness abruptly stopped scattering away.

It was as if there was an endless amount of thunderbolts roaring in its heart. That name was the most precious existence in its memory. There was only one person who would call it by that name in the world, and that was a young woman called Yu Xuan - the Abyss Dragon’s young mistress.

The dragon had not heard these two words for more than a thousand years. Those two words seemed to have awakened its memories, causing tears to fall down the Abyss Dragon’s eyes as it trembled.

However, it knew that the person who called it was not its young mistress, but another… voice that it was familiar with.

”Xiao Huang…”