Pursuit of the Truth

”Brother Kang Jiu, I’ve come to bother you again. I was slightly delayed during my trip here, that’s why I’m late. I hope that you won’t mind.” Yu Chen Hai laughed and wrapped his fist in his palm as a greeting to the man who was walking over to him.

”It’s fine. Your presence here adds a sparkle to this place. And who might this be?” The man’s laughter was very hearty, but even though he looked boorish, he was incredibly cautious. With a change of topic, he looked towards Su Ming.

When he looked at the other, his expression remained the same, but he was discreetly vigilant. From the positions of everyone in the group, he could immediately tell that Su Ming was clearly the leader there.

Besides, the covered Yu Rou standing beside Su Ming also caused the man to be curious about the other’s identity.

”Senior Su is a guest of Yu Family. Brother Kang Jiu, you know as well that I will be hosting an auction for the first time in a few days, that’s why I came with Senior Su to observe and learn. If we find anything we fancy, I do hope that you will give us a bit of a leeway,” Yu Chen Hai said with a smile.

”A guest of the Yu Family? I, Lie Shan Kang Jiu, greet Senior Su.” The man’s expression immediately turned respectful, and he took two steps backwards to wrap his fist in his palm to bow towards Su Ming. His expression was incredibly sincere.

Su Ming looked at the man before him. His brawny stature would make him stick out like a sore thumb in other people’s eyes, but to Su Ming, he could not help but find the man a familiar sight. This was the physique of a Berserker. This was the rough look that belonged to those who had Berserker blood flowing in their veins.

’He surpassed Berserker Soul Realm…’

Su Ming could tell with just one glance that the man had already reached the middle stage of World Plane Realm, but he did not practice the cultivation methods of a cultivator. Instead… he practiced Berserker Arts because of which he was filled with a vast amount of Qi.

In fact, Su Ming could even see about nine hundred something blood veins hidden in the man’s body. His Berserker Mark was also concealed under his skin. All other people would not be able to see it, but for Su Ming, everything about the man was in clear sight.

’He uses fire as a theme for his Mark.’

Su Ming averted his gaze and thought in his heart. He might not have said anything, but when he looked over just now, Lie Shan Kang Jiu’s heart had trembled furiously. His expression instantly changed drastically, and shock as well as astonishment appeared in his eyes. Back then, because of that one glance, he had a feeling as if he stood before Su Ming naked, and every single of his secrets had been discovered.

However, this was not what had delivered the greatest shock to him. What had caused him to be in slight disbelief was that when Su Ming looked at him, he lost control over the blood veins in his body; it felt as if they were about to burst forth from within him. The Berserker Mark he concealed also started showing signs that it was about to surface on his skin.

When Su Ming looked over, Lie Shan Kang Jiu even felt his breathing still and his body start trembling faintly, as if his blood was boiling and he wanted to worship the other. He had only felt something like this… once before.

It was when he met the Progenitor of the family. When the Progenitor had looked at him, a loud bang had rung out in his head.

”You are very good,” Su Ming said calmly. There was no underlying meaning to his words, but as he spoke, an awe-inspiring and ancient air was naturally contained in his voice, like the tone that would be used by one of those in the older generation when he looked at a promising member of the younger generation.

After all… he was the God of Berserkers!

He was the God of all those who had Berserker blood flowing in their veins.

Lie Shan Kang Jiu instinctively lowered his head and could not help but feel reverent. However, he soon registered what was going on and his heart immediately started trembling furiously. He did not dare to look into Su Ming’s eyes.

”Come, let us go see the first’s… auction hall.” Su Ming smiled in delight and walked before the group.

Neither Yu Chen Hai nor Lie Shan Kang Jiu understood what he meant by the first, but they instinctively followed behind him, especially Lie Shan Kang Jiu. When he looked at Su Ming, his gaze was filled with awe and veneration. He was very courteous all along the way as he led them into the auction hall.

”Senior Su, there is a ring-shaped hall in Lie Shan Family’s auction hall, and each family that takes part in it will have their own respective rooms in the hall. This is Yu Family’s room.” Soon, Lie Shan Kang Jiu brought Su Ming and the others before a room while speaking respectfully.

Su Ming did not look at Yu Family’s room, but instead lifted his head to look at another room in the distance.

”Change to that room.”

Lie Shan Kang Jiu looked in the direction Su Ming was looking, and a troubled look immediately appeared on his face.

”Senior, that is Lie Shan Family’s room, and no outsiders are allowed. This is…”

”Can we?” Su Ming turned his head around and cast Lie Shan Kang Jiu a flat gaze.

Lie Shan Kang Jiu instinctively lowered his head, and after a brief period of silence, he smiled wryly and nodded in agreement. There was a great wave stirring in his heart at that moment, because he discovered that when Su Ming asked that question… he could not refuse him. It was as if there was a form of suppression from his blood to his soul, because of which he was unable to be as free with his movements as before he met Su Ming.

This was due to a form of reservation on his part and a form of majesty on Su Ming’s part. This had nothing to do with Su Ming’s level of cultivation, because as one of the managers of the auction hall in this place, Lie Shan Kang Jiu had received some old monsters in Solar Kalpa Realm before. He might have been nervous back then, but even then, he did not experience such complete suppression as he did now. In fact, his heart, his blood, and even his soul were subconsciously wanting to obey Su Ming, to not go against his words.

’Just… who is he?’ This was the biggest question in Lie Shan Kang Jiu’s heart at that moment.

Once he nodded with a wry smile, Su Ming walked towards the room he chose. Yu Chen Hai quickly went forward to push open the door, revealing a large room. The decor might have been simple, but it gave off a grand presence. The walls in the room were all illusions, and with just one glance, they were able to see a big hall outside filled with thousands of people creating a clamor with their discussions.

At the center was a platform, and on it was a cultivator in his forties. He was introducing the item put up for bidding to the crowd with a smile on his face.

Su Ming stood by that illusory wall and looked at the bustle of activity outside without saying a single word. He had chosen this room because when he saw the map of the land of Berserkers outside on the ring-shaped building just now, he had discovered that the ninth summit was located in this spot.

Lie Shan Kang Jiu cast a wary look at Su Ming’s back, then wrapped his fist in his palm towards Yu Chen Hai to bid farewell before he left. Once he did so, his expression immediately changed and he hurried to where his family members were.

’That young man called Su Ming is incredibly strange. I’ll have to report this to the family as soon as possible. That person… is an enigma. He actually nearly caused me to expose myself as a Berserker!’

Once Lie Shan Kang Jiu left, Yu Chen Hai stood respectfully by the side of the room near Su Ming. When he looked at him, the reverence in his eyes was even stronger. He had naturally seen the changes in Lie Shan Kang Jiu’s attitude, and all of this was because of Su Ming. Needless to say, Yu Chen Hai formed many speculations in his heart.

Yu Rou remained as elegant as ever. She stood by Su Ming’s side and looked at the bustling auction hall without saying a thing.

The bald crane completely ignored Su Ming and the rest. It was staring straight at the big yellow dog with a look of great interest.

Once the dog entered the room, it shook its body, and raindrops flew all over the place. For some unknown reason, when the bald crane saw this, it felt that the dog looked very mighty while doing it.

Which was why once the yellow dog finished shaking off all the water droplets on its body, a dark light swiftly shone on the bald crane’s body and it gained the form of a big black dog which started shaking its body like the yellow dog had done moments ago.

Half of the auction had passed by then, and the climax arrived. Thousands of people might not seem like a huge number—and this was just a small auction—but in truth, if anyone looked over at that moment, they would find that the auction was filled with hordes of people.

”I will spare you hearing my voice now. My fellow Daoists, these three pieces of wood are three logs of Ash Pine Wood from Divine Essence Star Ocean. The minimum bid is 100,000 crystals!”

The middle-aged man swung his arm with a smile, and immediately, the air behind him distorted. Three women walked out. They were all rather beautiful, and each of them balanced a blue tray on their hands. There was a white log which was the breadth of a finger on each of the trays.

Waves of ancient presence spread out from the three logs, and those ancient presences were incredibly dense. However, they did not give off a feeling of degeneration. Instead, there was an abundance of life force contained within them.

”130,000!”

”170,000!”

”200,000! Those three logs of Ash Pine Wood are mine!”

”Not necessarily. Ash Pine Wood can cause a woman’s face to not age for three hundred years. This treasure is useful for me. I’ll offer 300,000 for them.”

Voices continued rising and falling as they placed their bids, and soon, the bid exceeded 500,000 crystals. Su Ming looked at the fervent ardor in the auction hall, but there was not a single change on his face.

”Only Lie Shan Family is able to bring out Ash Pine Wood in this sort of small auction. Almost all of the Ash Pine Wood put up for bidding in Black Ink Planet comes from Lie Shan Family,” Yu Chen Hai mumbled under his breath by the side.

”What are the effects of that wood?” Su Ming asked faintly.

”Senior Su, that wood doesn’t possess any special effects. It can only let a woman moisturize and nourish her face,” Yu Chen Hai quickly said.

”Ash Pine Wood can provide nourishment for the face. If someone refined it and absorbed it, they would be able to extract the power of time in it. If they fused it into their Enchanted Vessels, they would be able to nourish their Vessel Spirits, and if they merged it with their bodies, they could fill their bodies with life force, but this doesn’t have any healing properties.

”If a person is in possession of a large amount of Ash Pine Wood, they would be able to create the Bygone Time Venom. This poison can cause a person to age rapidly, and it cannot be cured,” Yu Rou explained calmly.

When she said all that, Yu Chen Hai was momentarily stunned. He had never heard of Ash Pine Wood possessing these effects before, and while he had heard of Bygone Time Venom, he only knew that it was a poison sold at an incredibly appalling price. He did not expect that it was created from Ash Pine Wood.

When Yu Rou spoke, the three logs of Ash Pine Wood were sold to someone for an incredibly high price. The host of Lie Shan Family spoke up once more then.

”The universe is filled with strange things, and bizarre objects are born within the universe. This time, we of Lie Shan Family have been entrusted with a task by a mysterious person, and we will auction off an item that is unique and one of its kind in the world. It has been brought out from the depths of Divine Essence Star Ocean, a region that practically no cultivator can venture into!

”This item would normally not appear here and would only be put up for bidding in our family’s large auction, but the mysterious person was anxious to have it sold, which was why it has come here.

”I will not waste your time now. The starting bid for this item is... 1,000,000 crystals!”

As his voice echoed in the air, the auction hall fell silent because right before everyone’s eyes, an old man walked out from the air behind the host of Lie Shan Family.

That old man had an incredibly big frame. When he walked out, the ground looked as if it trembled. He had no expression on his face, and once he appeared, he instantly swung his arm. Immediately, a statue of about thirty feet tall appeared in front of him. That statue had two heads: One of them was crying, while the other was smiling. There was damage all over its body, and it looked incredibly old.

There was also no life force about it, which made it clear that it was a dead object. By the looks of it, it also seemed to be in a state between being an illusion and being something that had corporeal form, since it appeared to be slightly blurry.

Su Ming’s pupils constricted.