Pursuit of the Truth

Reng Wu Race was the most mysterious race among the four great alien races in the core of Divine Essence Star Ocean.

They had existed for countless years and had not experienced any form of decline. They had always occupied the spot of the strongest race in Divine Essence Star Ocean, their position never having been shaken.

Staying in the core of Divine Essence Star Ocean for a long time and fighting against numerous ferocious beasts had created generations of powerful warriors in this race, and at the same time, they had also… assimilated with those ferocious beasts!

The appearance of their people was quite different. Although some of them still remained some human physical traits, many had abandoned their human forms and adopted ferocious appearances of half-beasts.

At that moment, when the members of Reng Wu race appeared in the fifth ocean, they immediately attracted the gazes of Zi Long and the others. When they looked over, their expressions changed.

Among the Reng Wus, there was not just one Almighty in Mastery Realm… there were three!

Just that alone was enough to make Reng Wu Race become the head of the four venerated races… but besides these three, the old man with white hair standing at the forefront was standing in space with bare feet, which were covered in scales. The other parts of his body were no different from a normal person, but the power he exuded was strong enough to suppress the other three Almighties in Mastery Realm behind him.

This person was the current Progenitor of Reng Wu. His power… could make the space around him distort, and based on it, he could turn the laws around where he stood into the laws of fate. Clearly… he was an Almighty in Fate Realm!

However, this was still secondary. Reng Wus had a mighty pressure that was faint and indistinct around them. It came from their blood, and it was a form of summons that was hidden in them.

This summons gathered the power of the previous Progenitors of Reng Wu over the countless years and turned it… into a protection, which allowed Reng Wus to become the strongest race in Divine Essence Star Ocean.

This protection was so strong that even Zhu You Cai opened his eyes.

The entire area was filled with silence. Reng Wus who had arrived with bloodshot eyes that showed their madness, but they stood without moving, incredibly quiet.

The more they did so, the more thick and mighty pressure surrounded the area.

Beside Reng Wus’ Progenitor was Virtue Rooters’ Progenitor, who had graying hair, the body of a snake, and a head of a human, and whose scales were rotting. At that moment, a sinister glare shone in his eyes.

“The ripples of power from the appearance of the fifth stone this time surpassed the appearances before, which is why so many people were lured to this place. But I can choose not to fight over that stone. I only want… that person’s head!” Virtue Rooters’ Progenitor lifted his right hand and pointed at Su Ming.

“If it wasn’t because the ripples were strongest ever recorded in history, I wouldn’t have come here personally either.” A hoarse voice tumbled slowly out of the mouth of the Reng Wus’ Progenitor.

“Lock down the area. Notify all outsiders that this place… has been occupied by us Reng Wus for the next six months. Those who step in will be wiped out along with their whole race.”

A barely noticeable glint appeared in the old Reng Wu’s eyes. When he spoke flatly, hundreds of Reng Wus immediately appeared behind him. They moved back without a single sound until they were one hundred thousand feet away. They were connected to each other in a arc-shaped line. Dark light spread out from their bodies, and from the distance, they looked as if they had formed a lock.

“We don’t even need to take action. The guardian of the fifth ocean has already arrived.” A cold sneer appeared on the old Reng Wu’s face. As he spoke, the whole fifth ocean started tumbling furiously.

As it tumbled about, booming sounds reverberated in space ferociously. This change immediately attracted Zi Long and the others’ attention. When they looked over, booming sounds rose up nonstop, and four figures could be seen vaguely rushing forward.

After them were countless long arcs who approached the place with loud roars.

They were indistinct due to the sea of fog covering them. When the group managed to see their faces properly, the expressions of Zi Long and the others immediately changed drastically.

The four people at the forefront wore white masks. Each of them had a different expression: happiness, anger, grief, and resentment. As for the people in the long arcs behind them, they were a group of expressionless people dressed in black leather armor.

These people charged forward as those long arcs and in no time appeared behind Su Ming and the others.

Su Ming opened his eyes while seated, and a strange light shone in them.

‘They’re finally here,’ Su Ming thought quietly in his heart. In truth, the instant he activated the fifth stone and the long arc shot through the fifth ocean, he sensed the presences of the guardians within the depths.

“Offering!” A voice that no one else could hear echoed in Su Ming’s heart at that moment. This was a voice that only the person with the fifth stone could hear—the voice of the fifth ocean’s guardians.

When Su Ming heard it, he closed his eyes.

The situation they were in right then was one where the Reng Wu Race locked the area in front of them, and the guardians of the fifth ocean appeared behind them. A powerful sense of danger immediately surged up in Zi Long and the others’ hearts.

The danger was especially strong from the four people in white masks. The cold look in their eyes and the ripples of power spreading out from their bodies showed that they were all Almighties in Mastery Realm.

In the mid of the harsh and grim atmosphere within the fifth ocean, the person with the Mask of Happiness said faintly, “Give up the fifth stone, and all of you will be free to leave.”

When he said that, the galaxy around the area immediately rumbled. Countless bolts of lightning appeared in all directions. As the people spoke, a region of lightning formed around them.

“With just words, he brought about lightning!” Zi Long’s expression changed again, and he instinctively took a few steps backwards.

Flame Fiends’ Progenitor turned pale. By his side, Long Hai’s eyes sparkled. He cast a glance at Su Ming, then at Zhu You Cai.

“Freedom might be precious, and the chance of using one year to redeem my freedom instead of one thousand or ten thousand years might be rare, but if the price for it is my life, then I will have to choose again,” Progenitor Long Hai said calmly, and he moved back slowly.

“I will be considered to have gone against our promise, so you can treat it as me not having fulfilled my oath. If you want to crush the oath, I will be helpless to do anything about it.” As Progenitor Long Hai spoke, he moved back swiftly and charged towards the Reng Wus.

“Progenitor of Reng Wus, do you still remember me? I did all this because I was forced by an oath, which is why I had to defend this place. Now, since there is no longer hope in turning the tables, please open the path and let me leave. I will surely repay in the future.” Progenitor Long Hai wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to the Reng Wus.

A glint shone in Reng Wus’ Progenitor’s eyes, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

“I see, so it is fellow Daoist Long Hai. I see no problem in this. My other fellow Daoists, if you want to leave, I will definitely not make it hard for you. What we want is only the fifth stone and the person who possesses it. As for the others, all of you may leave.”

As he spoke, he lifted his right hand. Immediately, the people behind him split into two directions and revealed a path. Progenitor Long Hai charged quickly towards that area and bowed towards Reng Wus’ Progenitor again. He turned into a long arc, then left into the distance through the tunnel that was opened up.

Not a single hint of change appeared on Su Ming’s expression because of Progenitor Long Hai’s departure. He still stayed with his eyes closed, as if he was meditating, and did not move.

Flame Fiends’ Progenitor hesitated for a moment. When he looked towards Su Ming, conflict appeared in his eyes. After a long while, he heaved a long sigh. He could imagine that Long Hai had prepared for this since the start, which was why he could do this so freely and casually, but for Flame Fiends’ Progenitor…

Zi Long was silent. He cast a glance at Su Ming, then looked behind him before finally settling on Zhu You Cai for a moment. Then, he lowered his head and bowed towards Su Ming. He did not mention the matter about the God Ascension Nectar. As he turned around, he rushed towards the Reng Wus.

He, too, chose to give up.

It was not that Zi Long did not consider Zhu You Cai being able to resolve everything in this predicament, but when he saw the Reng Wus, that belief was shaken. Others might not know much about the Reng Wus, only that this race was mysterious and lived in Divine Essence Star Ocean, but it wasn’t the case for him.

As someone from one of the four Great True Worlds, he had done a detailed investigation in regards to the Reng Wus, and he knew that there was a mysterious legacy among them. That legacy allowed each of their Progenitors to leave behind their Nascent Divinity once their bodies returned to the earth. Each generation’s Nascent Divinity would be gathered to add to the existence that akin to a God.

That existence was the true reason behind why the four Great True Worlds were wary of Reng Wus.

That existence’s level of cultivation was the Reng Wu Race’s greatest secret, and they did everything they could to hide all information regarding it.

Only the forces of power from the four Great True Worlds could dig out a little. Based on their analysis, that existence should have some defects and limitations, but even so, it could still… make the Sublime Paragons from the four Great True Worlds turn their gazes away and never come to this place to interfere with the race’s growth.

That was why Zi Long, who already had his will shaken when he saw the Reng Wu Race, no longer possessed any confidence when it came to the point that even the guardians from the fifth ocean showed up. Especially when he saw the four people with the masks of happiness, anger, grief, and resentment.

The four people of happiness, anger, grief, and resentment might have looked as if they were only in Mastery Realm, but Zi Long knew that they were existences that had lived for a very, very long time, and happiness, anger, grief, and resentment were legacies that were passed down through generations.

Which was why he chose to leave. God Ascension Nectar might be important, but compared to his life, it was only secondary.

When Flame Fiends’ Progenitor saw that Zi Long was also leaving, the conflict in his heart reached its peak, but when he looked towards Su Ming again, he clenched his teeth tightly… and did not choose to leave.

At that moment, not even Huo Kui himself knew why he chose that. It was just that when he was beside Su Ming in the fifth kiln, the miracles he witnessed had shocked him continuously. They gave him to a vague feeling that Su Ming… should be able to resolve the crisis.

When the guardian from the fifth ocean, the person with the Mask of Happiness, let out a cold harrumph and moved forward, overlapping shadows appeared swiftly on his body, as if a clone was about to be separated from him.

His real self was still there, but the clone stepped out and walked on lightning to charge towards Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. A fierce glare shone in the eyes of Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. Since he had already decided to stay, he naturally made all preparations necessary for a fight. The instant the clone of the person with the Mask of Happiness closed in, Flame Fiends’ Progenitor rushed forward, and the two of them immediately stirred up a series of loud bangs in the middle of space.