Pursuit of the Truth

”Even if I have yet to perfect my Dao, I am not in the habit of easily worshiping anyone.” A freezing light shone in Su Ming’s eyes. He let out a cold harrumph before he took a step forward.

Since he was going to take Yu Family’s test and wanted to blend into Black Ink Planet as fast as possible, he needed a pivot point. This pivot point was the Yu Family and Yu Chen Hai.

With them, he could step straight into the ranks of the cultivators of Black Ink Planet, and his status would also change to someone from the planet instead of an outsider. Once that happened, it would be easier for Su Ming to search for clues about the bald crane. It could also allow him to obtain more answers towards why the Shamans were in this place.

That was why Su Ming chose to help Yu Chen Hai.

In the face of the provocation, he chose to no longer keep a low profile and instead decided to flaunt his abilities within a certain limit. With a cold snort, he took a step forward, and a powerful will erupted swiftly from his body with a bang. That will was born from Su Ming’s soul, and it had nothing to do with his cultivation base. This was the monstrous will that had been born when he fought head-on against Ecang’s will and forcefully Possessed it.

Will is born from the soul, and divine thought is born from cultivation base. These two are different, but in terms of nature, they are both without form yet the will can create a mighty pressure.

In terms of divine thought, Su Ming could not hope to fight against those that were pressing down on him, but in terms of will, these people were like the light of a firefly compared to Su Ming. They were overestimating their strength by daring to fight against the bright light of the moon.

As Su Ming’s will erupted forth, an invisible form of resistance swept through the area in all directions from where he was during that instant. The air around him distorted, and ripples spread out intensely from where he was. The one step Su Ming took forward caused the weather to change and the sky to dim.

As booming sounds spread through the area, the divine thoughts that had come to push down on him immediately fell backwards.

Yu Chen Hai was following behind Su Ming. Once he witnessed all this, his breathing quickened, and when he looked towards Su Ming, there was shock and extreme joy within his gaze. He had valued Su Ming greatly since the beginning, and after the scene with the swallow in the rain, he had also become respectful of him. However, all of these could not be compared to the shock he felt at the moment.

After all, this was the first time he saw Su Ming attack!

He knew clearly the levels of cultivation possessed by those of the older generation who had sent those divine thoughts towards Su Ming just now, and it was precisely because he knew of this that he had been shocked by his strength.

Almost at the moment the divine thoughts around Su Ming tumbled backwards, low shouts immediately came from Dao Avenue Mountain. Five figures turned into five long arcs and charged towards Su Ming.

As they came over, divine abilities instantly manifested in the area, having been executed by the five people. Due to those abilities, it people seemed like they had turned into sharp swords. Instantly, their killing intent spread out in all directions.

”Needless to say, once I perfect my Dao, you will not have the right to make me worship anything. Even this Dao Avenue Mountain does not have the right to make me worship it,” Su Ming said lightly and took a second step. At the instant he did so, the palm contained in his left eye shone.

Boom!

The sky changed, and a gigantic palm appeared and came charging down at the ground. This might have seemed to have occurred over a long period of time, but in truth, in the blink of an eye, that palm had already crashed into the five people’s divine abilities.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent gusts of wind swept through the area, and the world trembled. The gigantic palm that Su Ming had formed disappeared into the sky, and a violent jolt wrecked the five people who were rushing towards him. Their bodies froze in midair for an instant, and they came to a complete halt. Their faces were then revealed. They were five old men whose gazes alternated between shock and bewilderment while their faces radiated sullenness.

As for Su Ming, when booming sounds echoed in the air and the gigantic palm disappeared, he took three steps back. With each step, the ground would tremble, and when he took his third step back, a dash of red appeared on his cheeks.

Three of the five were at the peak of the middle stage of World Plane, one had attained great completion of the middle stage, and the last of them was even halfway through to reaching the later stage. The combined attack of these five people was equivalent to an attack of a cultivator in the later stage of World Plane Realm.

It might have seemed like Su Ming had gotten the short end of the stick, but the shock Yu Chen Hai experienced was incomparable. He clearly knew that the five people from the older generation in his family had worked together to fight against Su Ming’s divine ability. They might have seemed to have gained the upper hand, but in truth, it was only on the surface. While Su Ming might have stepped back, he had not been injured in the slightest, and it was a telling sign of how strong he was.

When Yu Chen Hai saw that the five people from the older generation had become wary of Su Ming while they remained in midair with sullen expressions on their faces, a myriad of thoughts flickered through his mind. He then took a few steps forward and immediately spoke.

”Progenitors, what is the meaning of this?! You were the ones who mentioned that you wanted to test senior Su. Now that I’ve brought our guest here, you’re preventing him from taking it! I might be of the younger generation in the family, but I do know that there is a clear mention of this within the rules of our family!”

As Yu Chen Hai spoke, he addressed Su Ming as a senior. While keeping a low profile, he intentionally raised Su Ming’s status. As his words echoed in the air coldly, the five people in the sky let out cold harrumphs. Hesitance had appeared in their hearts due to Su Ming’s strength, which was why they had decided to use what Yu Chen Hai had said as an excuse to not attack. An old man with white hair among them cast Su Ming a profound look before he pointed towards Dao Avenue Mountain.

”Sir, since you want to challenge the Three Gates of Heavenly Mountain, then by all means go on ahead. This place is the first gate!”

Su Ming had already used his power to demonstrate his level of cultivation, and it was a strength that left these five people apprehensive. They were no longer willing to continue making things difficult for him, much less mention the matter about wanting him to worship the mountain earlier.

To them, Su Ming challenging the Three Gates of Heavenly Dao was an extremely conceited act. Over the course of years, very few people had succeeded within the Yu Family. Even if he had extraordinary power, there had been others who had even higher levels of cultivation who had tried to challenge the Three Gates of Heavenly Da. In the end, there were only a few who succeeded, which was a telling sign that the deciding factor for clearing the Three Gates of Heavenly Dao did not lay in a person’s level of cultivation.

In fact, they could already imagine how this person would walk out of Dao Avenue Mountain in an incredibly pathetic state before long. At that time, he would naturally know what it means to overestimate and humiliate oneself.

Su Ming cast a cold glance at Dao Avenue Mountain.

”This Dao Avenue Mountain originally did not belong to the Yu Family, but is something that came from Divine Essence Star Ocean. One of the Progenitors of our family had brought it back in the past. It has another name: Dao Avenue Receives Bats.

”That is the name for the first gate of the Three Gates of Heavenly Dao. There is a second gate after the first, and it is known as the Sun and Moon Shines Together.

”Senior, I will have to ask for your favor in this.” Yu Chen Hai sucked in a deep breath and bowed deeply towards Su Ming.

Su Ming’s expression remained calm. He averted his gaze from Dao Avenue Mountain and cast Yu Chen Hai a glance before he spoke flatly.

”It doesn’t matter what sort of thoughts you harbor in your head, but do not forget the swallow’s feather.” Once he said that, he swung his arm and walked towards Dao Avenue Mountain. He moved swiftly, like a rainbow, and in an instant, he arrived at the mountain, then flew straight into the gaping mouth of the hideous ghost’s face that was the summit.

Su Ming’s words echoed in Yu Chen Hai’s ears, and his heart froze. The voice seemed to have turned into a brand in his mind and refused to leave even after a long time. In the end, it turned into a purplish gold runic symbol that was left behind deep within his mind in the mid of his shock. It seemed like an illusion, but also felt real, and he could not distinguish whether it was real or fake.

As Su Ming disappeared into Dao Avenue Mountain, the five old men from Yu Family sat down cross-legged in the sky and completely ignored Yu Chen Hai. No one else came to this place; they were the only ones in the area.

Originally, challenging the Three Gates of Heavenly Dao was a huge matter in Yu Family, but as time passed and almost every single person who tried failed, it gradually turned into a decoration. If it had not been because the rules in the family stated that each member of the family must challenge the mountain once in their lives and if it was not the only path for guests to become guest elders, no one would even remember the existence of the Three Gates of Heavenly Dao.

Because of that, Su Ming’s challenge of them that should have caught the Yu Family’s attention only had a few people watching.

”This person will definitely fail and walk out within three days. We just need to wait here for three days.”

”Three days? Even if he has extraordinary power, there were only a few, both from the guests and the family, who could last for more than ten days in the first gate. Some managed to continue to seven days, but most failed with a day, or even a half.”

”This person can at most last one day.”

”True. Based on past experiences, those who last for more than ten days are considered to have passed the first gate, and Dao Avenue’s Voice will speak up, but since ancient times, very few have succeeded. This person had been really conceited just now, I wonder if he will still act the same way when he comes out.”

As the five people spoke with cold sneers on their faces, Yu Chen Hai sat in the distance quietly and watched Dao Avenue Mountain with his heart filled with nervousness. He hoped that Su Ming would succeed, and that hope turned into a great desire in his heart.

As Yu Chen Hai waited, time trickled by. Two hours, four hours, six hours… Half a day passed. The expectation in Yu Chen Hai’s eyes grew stronger. As his heart pounded against his chest, he kept his gaze fixed on Dao Avenue Mountain.

Gradually, when an entire day passed, the five old men’s expressions changed, but they were still certain that Su Ming would not last for more than three days in the first gate.

However, this certainty in their hearts was shaken slightly when the second day passed.

”This person is quite remarkable. He actually managed to stay in there for two days, but he should be struggling in there right now. He won’t last for more than three days!”

”Hmph. This is the strangeness of the first gate. The longer a person stays in there, the more changes will occur. Didn’t we also last for nearly three days in the past? Just watch, when the sun sets tomorrow, this person will be unable to persevere.”

When the third day passed, the excitement in Yu Chen Hai’s heart had already reached its limit. Red filled his eyes, and his body trembled lightly. At that moment, it was as if there was a voice shouting excitedly in his heart.

’You have to succeed!’ Yu Chen Hai’s breathing quickened. Compared to his excitement, the expressions of the five men had turned incredibly dark.

That dark mood of theirs turned into shock and disbelief when the fourth day passed. At that time, they stood up swiftly.

This was because a shrill voice that was like the screech of a malicious ghost spread out in all directions from Dao Avenue Mountain.

This voice came from the ghost’s mouth, and it hadn’t been heard for several thousands of years. This voice... was Dao Avenue’s Voice, and it meant that someone had cleared the First Gate of Heavenly Dao!

”Dao Avenue’s Voice… This-this is impossible!”

The five people’s disbelief and Yu Chen Hai’s indescribable shock as well as extreme joy after being momentarily stunned became increasingly stronger as the ghost’s voice echoed in the air.

At that moment, the weather changed and roars rose into the sky. All the members of the Yu Family heard the ghost’s voice no matter what they were doing. In fact, some of the old monsters in the family that isolated themselves throughout the year to train opened their eyes.

In the span of a breath, numerous silhouettes charged over to Dao Avenue Mountain from all directions.