Pursuit of the Truth

“Leave this place in three breaths, all of you substandard life forms who have failed in the ascension of your spirits!

“If any of you dares to not obey, I will slaughter my way into Spirit Descension Hall and destroy all of your spirit plates. I will destroy all of your spirit forms!”

An ancient voice with an unparalleled, domineering tone reverberated through the air with loud rumbles. Upon hearing it, not only did the red figures retreat while shrieking, even the red fog in the area tumbled about as if shivering and fell back.

In a span of two breaths, not a single red figure could be seen in a circular area of one million feet. Even the hall in the sky had faded away and disappeared without a trace. Everything returned to a state of calm. Even the red fog in the distance gradually gained a white shade as if it was about to turn white ahead of schedule.

Su Ming stood at the entrance of the cave. All that had happened caused his eyes to flash rapidly. A hint of shock and uncertainty appeared on his face. He stood unmoving, still hearing the old man’s words echo in his ears.

Su Ming did not move as the area sank into a state of dead silence. Not a single sound could be heard. It was as if Su Ming’s presence did not gain any attention from the voice which declared itself to be part of Heavenly Spirit Tribe.

‘Failure in the ascension of their spirits… Spirit Descension Hall… Heavenly Spirit Tribe.’

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled. He turned his head around and cast a glance at the depths of the cave. After a moment of pensive silence, he did not step in. Instead, he walked out of the cave and stood right outside the entrance. He stood at the mountainside of the white mountain and stared into the distance.

He could clearly see the fog in the distance changing. White fog took up half of it, and before long, the red fog would disappear, replaced by white, and the world would welcome seven days of relative safety.

‘So these red figures and the mummies who held the bone spears in their hands are products of people who failed in the ascension of their spirits in this place… Then since there are beings who failed in the ascension of their spirits, there must be those who succeeded…

‘Ascension of spirits… Could it be that the so-called Ancestral Spirits and Antecedental Spirits are a product born after someone succeeds in the ascension of their spirit?’

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled. He remembered the words that Yu Family’s Yu Rou had told him when he was in Black Ink Planet in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.

“Legend has it that when the sky, the earth, the universe, the heavens, the galaxy, and the cosmos had yet to take form, the first living things that were born were known as… Ancestral Spirits.

“They created life, which is why we have so many races and so many different types of living beings.

“These living beings worshiped the Ancestral Spirits. In the endless passage of time, among the races that did so, life forms that could bear the power of the Ancestral Spirits slowly came into existence. They were known as Antecedental Spirits.

“A disaster no one knows about caused all manner of living to die or fall to sleep. It didn’t matter whether it was the Ancestral Spirits or those who became Antecedental Spirits due to their worship, none were able to escape from the disaster.

“As the disaster went on, the races fell to ruin. They were either dissolved or destroyed, and in the end, they were no more. In the endless passage of time after the disaster, there were no longer any Ancestral Spirits or Antecedental Spirits, but the people could see the changes in the universe, could see the world, the planets, could sense the rules and laws in the universe, and from then on, consolidate some of the cultivation methods to slowly create their own cultivation systems.

“It was… a cultivation system that aimed to achieve perfection and become a superior life form. The system for each race was different, but their goal was the same. Over the course of time, the outstanding ones who practiced this sort of cultivation system were known as Succeeding Spirits.

“By now, even Succeeding Spirits are incredibly rare, and due to dissemination and growth of the numerous races in the universe, the people who practice these sort of cultivation systems are known as cultivators. Based on the ancient titles, some of them could be known as Succeeding Spirits.”

This was the explanation Yu Rou had provided him in the past. It was also the first time Su Ming had come to know of the meaning of titles like Ancestral Spirit, Antecedental Spirit, Successor Spirit, and Succeeding Spirit.

When Su Ming heard it, his heart had been stirred up slightly, but he did not take it to heart. He believed that the understanding of the tribes in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence towards cultivators was not complete. They only had superficial knowledge about them.

Yet when Su Ming went to True Morning Dao World and met the Predecessor of Dao Ocean, when he saw the red figures and All Spirits Hall, the place spoken in the legends of the Barren Lands of Divine Essence saying that it was the birthplace of all lives and heard the keywords in the old man’s words, his heart was shaken greatly.

‘Based on the words from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, cultivators are in truth Succeeding Spirits… The Barren Lands of Divine Essence are part of Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos, so is there a possibility… that Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos has already gone through four eras? Perhaps, Sui Chen Zi, Ecang, and Old Man Extermination are just people who existed or were outsiders during one of the eras.

‘Besides the era of the Succeeding Spirits, the other four eras have already been buried in the long river of history. Only a speck of information has been passed down… Only due to ancient history and still living tribal lives in Divine Essence Star Ocean, the people there have the complete version of the four eras.’

Su Ming remained silent as a contemplative expression appeared on his face. The more he thought about this, the more shocked he became.

He suddenly thought of another problem—even though the Almighties in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos were in the same Realm as the cultivators from Saint Defier’s camp and should have been equals in terms of strength, when they fought against each other, a cultivator in Solar Kalpa Realm from Saint Defier Expanse Cosmos could win against those in Fate Realm from Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos. In fact, they even had the courage to fight against those in Life Realm.

Just what was different between them that could create such a disparity? Su Ming had always been puzzled about this. He had once believed that Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos was simply slightly more primitive, which was why they did not have the cultivation system which had been formed over countless years in Saint Defier Expanse Cosmos.

In fact, Su Ming had even been slightly envious of the core of Saint Defier Expanse Cosmos’ cultivation system—Essence!

Those from Saint Defier cultivated Essence, and those from Dark Dawn cultivated spirit cores. When he learned about this, Su Ming had sighed in his heart, because he did not know what Arid Triad cultivated. He had no clue about it, and feeling perplexed, he had tried to learn from Saint Defier Expanse Cosmos and cultivate this so-called Essence energy.

He had really taken a few steps down this road, but he could never forget how casual the Predecessor of Dao Ocean had been when it analyzed Essence while Su Ming was undergoing the trial of the Dynasts in True Morning Dao World in its illusion. Its voice might have sounded no different from other people, but Su Ming could still tell how dismissive it was.

It was as if… to the Predecessor of Dao Ocean, Essences were very simple and not at all complicated. It only needed to think about it for a moment before being able to help Su Ming sense the existence of Essences of tremors.

This made it clear that Essences were not mysterious to the Predecessor of Dao Ocean. They were merely some simple principles. As long as one could comprehend and master them completely, they could execute them.

Su Ming’s breathing quickened slightly, and a brilliant light shone in his eyes. These were questions and doubts which had always existed in his mind. At that moment, when he heard the old man’s words, they became keys in his mind which instantly made him think of many things. They slowly turned into a theory which was incredibly mad, but Su Ming still somewhat believed in it.

‘It’s not that the cultivators in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos are not strong, but that they are now fourth generation cultivators. They have lost the cultivation system they owned in the past. It can be said that they have tried to develop it again… but while Saint Defier Expanse Cosmos might have also gone through several eras, there is no doubt… that even though they might have also lost their cultivation system in the past, theirs is still more complete. This is why there is such a huge difference between us.

‘The fourth era is the Succeeding Spirits’ Era. Then based on this, I can tell that the third era is the era of Successor Spirits, and they watched the changes in the universe and the planets in the galaxy. They sensed the laws and rules in the world, then merged it with what little remained of the cultivation system of the past, and slowly, they created a new cultivation system.

‘It is… a cultivation system which allows them to perfect themselves and make themselves become a greater life form. During the third era, the people practiced cultivation with this cultivation system. They were known as cultivators who were Successor Spirits.

‘In that era lived Sui Chen Zi, Ecang, and Old Man Extermination. During those glorious days, the cultivators of that time should have been able to fight against those in Saint Defier and Dark Dawn… Even if their overall strength was still not enough to win against them, their combat abilities should have been strong enough to stand on equal grounds.

‘But when the third era was destroyed, Sui Chen Zi and the others died while Ecang fell asleep. This is why when the fourth era started, the cultivators became weaker; after all, they could only practice cultivation based on some of the incomplete cultivation methods passed down to them from the third era. That is why… they are no longer able to fight against those from Saint Defier’s camp in terms of their combat power despite their levels of cultivation being just as high.

‘And the third era’s destruction… might be because of Old Man Extermination’s ballad!’

Su Ming’s heart trembled. He had a vague feeling that even if his guess was not completely accurate, he was definitely close to the truth.

His breathing quickened. If he continued making his deductions based on this train of thought, then the second era belonged to the Antecedental Spirits. It was completely dislocated from the third era. It was to the point that even their cultivation systems were completely different.

The cultivators of the second era worshiped the first era’s Ancestral Spirits, and from this, they obtained overwhelmingly powerful cultivation bases. They slowly stood out among their tribes and became known as Antecedental Spirits. In time, they brought their tribes to glory… but in the end, they still faced the decline and destruction of their era. That destruction submerged everything they had created.

‘Antecedental Spirits… Antecedental Spirits… There’s a high possibility that the Predecessor of Dao Ocean is an Antecedental Spirit from the second era, and it’s still alive!’

A brilliant light which had never appeared in Su Ming’s eyes before shone at that moment. He felt that the more he analysed things in this manner, the closer he came to the truth.

‘That’s why the Predecessor of Dao Ocean could investigate the cultivators from Saint Defier Expanse Cosmos and the Ancient God as it pleased. In fact, it could imitate all their divine abilities and execute them in the illusion even after they died. It could even… imitate Essences that is the core of the cultivation system in Saint Defier Expanse Cosmos!

‘From this, it can be seen just how powerful the Antecedental Spirits of the second era are!

‘Then… I now have the perfect explanation for the use of the All Spirits Hall and the failure in spirit ascension mentioned by the ancient old man. This All Spirits Hall is a legacy which can allow the people from the second era to become Ancestral Spirits!’

Su Ming shuddered. As the shock traveled through him from his own theory, a great desire suddenly erupted in the depths of his heart!