Pursuit of the Truth

The expressions of all ten million cultivators in the area changed drastically. When they looked towards the sky, their gazes were filled with great fear. They could clearly sense the might and pressure coming from the force of the mountains. It was a power that could make the entire continent tremble.

Among all of Su Ming’s divine abilities, this could be considered his strongest Art before he had learned God Slayer Art and when not counting his inborn abilities. He had learned it in the fifth kiln, and it came from… Mountain Shifter Expanse Cosmos, a world that did not belong to Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos!

It was the strongest Art in Mountain Shifter Expanse Cosmos, and its might… was naturally difficult to measure. Su Ming had only activated one-thousandth of its true might. After all, he could not bring out its true power with his current level of cultivation, but even so, he already brought forth… a power that could threaten even Almighties in Fate Realm.

As the ten million cultivators’ expressions changed, the tanned old man sucked in a breath. Even the pupils of Bei Bang, the Almighty in Life Realm, shrank. There was a solemn expression on his face that had never been seen before.

If the onlookers were already reacting in such a way, then the person with the black feathers in the pillar of light who was at the center of that mighty pressure could sense it even better. His eyes sparkled. Immediately, black light burst from his body with a loud whooshing sound. When it surged into the air, the color of the pillar instantly turned completely black. At the same time, the black light spread out, and in the blink of an eye, the platform turned completely dark in the eyes of the ten million cultivators in the area.

Even if they were just looking at it, they felt sharp stabs of pain in their eyes. A chilling wave surged up their bodies, as if their organs had been frozen over. In fact, their limbs also became stiff under that light, and they felt as if they had lost their power and become mortal, but their cultivation bases still remained in their bodies!

The Light of Extreme Darkness was one of the five-colored divine lights. Its power was so great that the expressions of all people who spoke of it would change when it resided in the northern most region in True Morning Dao World many years ago.

The instant the black light appeared and sharp pain assaulted Su Ming’s body, causing him to feel stiff, the mountains in the sky rushed down to the ground.

The shadows of the mountains not only enveloped the platform, but even all the cultivators in the area. As the mountains came down, their shadow continued growing bigger, and to the cultivators in the area, it looked like Su Ming and the person with black feathers had attacked at the same time. One of them froze the other’s body, and the other sent down destruction from the sky.

Bei Bang’s expression changed drastically. He was also the only one who had his mobility under the Light of Extreme Darkness. He swung his arm up to form a seal. At the same time, he let out a low shout.

“Morning Dao Seal!”

Booming sounds immediately surged up, and the ten million cultivators in the area shuddered. The sharp stabs of pain and stiffness instantly disappeared. At that moment, there was only one thought in their minds—retreat swiftly.

In an instant, the ten million cultivators tumbled backwards like a tidal wave. After withdrawing to a spot far, far away, they could still hear the loud booms. The ground trembled, and the mountains crashed into the pillar of light on the platform.

In the mid of the booming sounds, the mountains struck down, and the black light spreading out from the pillar of light flashed. Whooshing sounds mixed with the booms. Each time they echoed together, a mountain would crumble.

As the Light of Extreme Darkness and the mountains fought against each other, Su Ming endured the sharp pain in his body and rushed forward swiftly. But just as he was about to thrust the spear in his hand into the pillar of light again, the bald crane suddenly screeched in his mind.

“It’s mine! IT’S MINE! Darn it all, this is MINE!

“This light is mine! It’s mine! What’s going on? I seem to have remembered something… Ah, darn it all, I can’t remember it. BUT! I know that black light is mine! I should have a light with five colors, and when they’re all together, I could overpower all the Immortals’ Daos in the universe!”

There was an excitement and madness that had never appeared before in the bald crane’s piercing voice. When it echoed in Su Ming’s mind, he froze for a moment, and the crimson shade in his hair faded away to return to normal.

This was not Su Ming recovering on his own, but the bald crane’s screech containing a power that could shock hearts. It forcefully turned Su Ming back from his destruction-inducing state.

As the bald crane screamed, the mountains fell, and the black light was defeated. At that moment, the bald crane flew out on its own from Su Ming’s storage bag. With bloodshot eyes, it gritted its teeth and rushed to the pillar of light recklessly.

“It’s mine! You damn thief, that light is mine!”

In Su Ming’s memories, the bald crane had never been in such a frenzy before. Even when it was in the fifth kiln and was stimulated to seek new heights, it had not reacted in such a way.

It did not have many feathers, but it had a few downy ones. At that moment, they all stood up. With bloodshot eyes flashing in madness, the bald crane’s twisted expression seemed to scream that the person with black feathers had stolen all of its crystals.

“Just watch me, your Grandpa Crane is going to teach you a lesson! You damn thief, you stole my black light while I wasn’t paying attention! This light is MINE!” the bald crane screeched and swiftly closed in on the pillar.

That black light swept out, and sharp stabs of pain immediately spread through Su Ming’s body, but the bald crane was completely unharmed. Not only did it not stop, it even became faster. With a bang, it crashed against the pillar of light, and its gaze met that of the person with black feathers.

When they looked into each other’s eyes, the person with black feathers was first stunned, then his expression changed drastically, in a manner that had never happened for him before. He shuddered, as if he was about to move back, but he was sealed in the pillar of light and could not withdraw. He then immediately let out a shrill scream.

“It’s you! Damn it! You’re not dead?! How could you not be dead?! Why can’t you just die!”

Black light spread out in an intense manner from the person with black feathers, causing Su Ming to be unable to get closer to it. He staggered backwards, and a loud booming sound reverberated in the air. The mountains continued descending without stop. Each time one crumbled, the black light would become dimmer, and it would also make the person with black feathers in the pillar shudder, but no matter how he shuddered, he did not tremble as badly as when he saw the bald crane.

“You’re mine! And the light is also mine! This damn light, this cute light, it sealed you! Darn it all, this light is far too ADORABLE!” The bald crane was already rambling incoherently. With a loud shout, half of its body seeped through the pillar… and it entered it.

Su Ming had known since a long time ago that the bald crane was immune to all seals. When he saw it again, a sparkle shone in his eyes. He moved back upon another flash of the black light and swung his arm. Immediately, mountains surrounded the area. As booming sounds rose up while the mountains crumbled in their fight against the black light, the shattered stones turned into powder. It stirred up a windstorm and blocked… the gazes from the world outside.

All of that could not be seen by those in the area beyond. The existence of the black light blocked off their vision, and it was the same for the voices. No one in the area outside could hear anything. Besides, the ten million cultivators in the area as well as Bei Bang had already retreated into the distance. The storm of powder due to the collapse of Su Ming’s mountains only accentuated everyone’s inability to see clearly.

Because of that, only Su Ming, the person with black feathers, and the bald crane knew what was going on inside.

When the bald crane pushed half of its body through the pillar of light, the person with black feathers screamed shrilly, as if he was extremely terrified and wanted to flee, but he could not leave the area of the seal. His screams were tinted with despair.

“Don’t worry, popper… come to Grandpa Crane’s bosom and let me embrace you tightly…” The bald crane’s expression was distorted. Its voice also became strange. As it used all of its strength to crawl into the pillar of light, it kept on speaking to the trembling and struggling person with black feathers.

Its words made even’s Su Ming skin crawl when he heard them. As for the person with black feathers, he felt it even more. As he screamed, he struggled, but it did not make any difference. He could only watch the bald crane continue crawling in with all its strength. By then, most of its body had already entered the pillar of light.

“Come here, baby, you’re mine… Haha, this light is mine! I remember now! Darn it all, even you are mine!

“Hmm? Could it be that I’m your father and you’re my son?” Clearly, once this question appeared in the bald crane’s head, it caused it a great deal of confusion. It scratched its head before twisting its body with great strength and completely crawling into the pillar. Then, while laughing and licking its lips, its eyes bloodshot… it even started to mumble in a deranged manner.

“Son, your pops is here now. Don’t be scared, I’ll be veeeery gentle… Nah, Grandpa Crane sounds better. Let’s do over. You don’t have to be anxious.” The bald crane’s body trembled while it laughed in a piercing voice, then even took a few steps back.

“Baby, your Grandpa Crane is here. You don’t have to be scared anymore…” The bald crane’s voice was immediately replaced by the person with black feathers’ loud screams. At the instant it rose up, the bald crane pounced on him like a malicious dog on food, then wrapped its wings around him.

At the instant their bodies touched each other, the person with black feathers shuddered intensely. A vortex appeared at the center of his brows, and during that instant, a black feather appeared from between his brows while he shivered. Once it disappeared into the center of the bald crane’s brows, the person with black feathers went limp. Its body turned into a ray of black light that spread outwards before disappearing without a trace.

Disappearing along with him was the bald crane, who seemed to have regained its senses and swiftly fled back into Su Ming’s storage bag.

“I’m going to be rich! Little Boy Su, darn it all, I’m going to be RICH! How many crystals do you reckon this feather will sell for? Do you think I’ll be able to get one hundred for it?”

“Can you use that Light of Extreme Darkness?” Su Ming suddenly asked.

“Of course. It feels as if it belongs to me. Strange… it feels as if it has always belonged to me,” the bald crane murmured under its breath.

Su Ming’s lips curled up into a smile. He raised his right hand and swung it. Immediately, the storm and the whirlwind around the area dissipated. Besides the many mountains which had been turned to powdered stone, the others tumbled backwards to return to their original spots.

The black light on the platform had already disappeared. When everything returned to normal, Su Ming turned around and looked towards the crowd beyond the platform. He saw astonished gazes along with expressions filled with disbelief.

He did not even need to turn his head around to know that what caused the people to be in shock was because the person with black feathers who had existed for an unknown number of years in the pillar of light in Morning Dao Sect… had vanished without a trace.