Pursuit of the Truth

“It can affect those in Avacaniya Realm?” Su Ming looked at the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe.

“Since this Art can make Arid Triad’s will show signs of waking up due to sensing danger, it can naturally affect the powerful warriors in Avacaniya Realm. However, if you leave this True World, the might of the Art will become much weaker.”

The old man slowly nodded. The storm raging his heart due to the astonishing sight brought forth by Su Ming’s Art had yet to calm down, but he looked calm.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “Does this divine ability that has the power of the Curse as its main force have a name?”

Su Ming thought back on the process of him casting the Art in detail before he remembered Arid Triad’s will, who had been a supreme presence which stood above all else. Then, he slowly said, “Arid Curse.”

“Arid Curse… What a skill it is, Arid Curse!”

The eyes of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe sparkled, and his figure gradually disappeared. When he fused into space, it looked like Su Ming was alone in the galaxy.

Su Ming swung his arm. The third eye at the center of his brow opened to reveal a slit. It no longer showed a pupil at that moment, but a galactical vortex which was True Morning Dao World. It was one of Su Ming’s clones that was spread out around him at that moment, but the core had fused into his third eye.

As a cultivator who was a True World, with just one thought, he could descend in any region he wanted in True Morning Dao World. At that moment, he took a step forward and disappeared. When he reappeared, he was past the sealed Relocation Rune and in… Morning Dao Sect.

After Su Xuan Yi had left, the mountains and earth in Morning Dao Sect had shattered, the sky collapsed, and the ground crumbled. There was no life left, just wreckage.

Su Ming stared at the quiet Morning Dao Sect around him. He examined everything in this place and could not help but remember all the things that had happened when he had stepped into the sect. After a long while, Su Ming walked past the wreckage of the shattered world. He went past crumbled continents and saw countless corpses.

The people had passed away many years ago, so few of them retained complete bodies. Most of them were torn to pieces, but despair and an unwillingness to accept death could still be seen on each of their faces.

Su Ming had seen some of the people before in Morning Dao Sect, but most of the time, the faces were unfamiliar. A thick aura of death filled Morning Dao Sect. Even though Su Ming had already deduced that Morning Dao Sect would be destroyed and became certain of it when Xu Hui and De Shun appeared, but when he saw it with his own eyes, Su Ming could not help but sigh.

The sect’s past glory had all been reduced to ruins. The great sect of the past, the greatest sect in Morning Dao World… had now become dust.

As he walked, Su Ming saw the carcasses of the four holy beasts. He then remembered their grand stature when holding up the continents during the Anointment Ceremony, but now… they had disappeared into the passage of time.

Su Ming could not help the complicated feelings that arose within him. When he turned his head back and looked at everything that had happened after he returned from Divine Essence Star Ocean, it was all like a dream. At that moment, he was forced to return as Dao Kong, but now… he was the master of True Morning Dao World. All of True Morning Dao World was just his clone.

Through his journey, everything that he experienced caused Su Ming to sigh and lift his right hand. With a swing, the collapsed sky distorted slowly. As if time was flowing in reverse, the world began repairing itself, then rising upwards rapidly. Countless fragments gathered together. Even if there were some parts that had been reduced to dust due to the collapse, they appeared out of nowhere and gathered together until a blue sky rose up again in the heavens.

Su Ming placed his right foot lightly on a piece of shattered rock. A layer of ripples immediately spread out from beneath his feet. In the blink of an eye, it covered all of Morning Dao Sect.

Countless shattered rocks rose swiftly to gather together. Gradually, a continent appeared under Su Ming’s feet and spread out before it turned into the continent in the first layer of Morning Dao Sect.

Three more continents were formed in succession in the distance. As if time was moving in reverse, the wreck was restored to its former glory. Countless shards appeared on the four continents to swiftly gather together to form a tower that shot up into the skies.

While booming sounds rang around Su Ming, continents appeared below. Some of them were formed out of thin air; some of them were formed by shattered rocks gathering together; and some of them rose from the fog in Dao Ocean, located at the bottommost part. After a moment, continents covered the entire sky, and when Su Ming cast his gaze over them, it looked as if Morning Dao Sect’s former glory had been restored.

All the corpses disappeared without a trace at that instant. Even the thick aura of death scattered and disappeared…

When Su Ming walked through the area, the world behind him continuously changed as it moved in reverse. He continued walking until he stood beyond the endless Dao Ocean beneath Morning Dao Sect.

Su Ming looked at the tumbling fog tumbling, but Su he did not step in. Instead, he watched it quietly as if he was waiting for something.

After a long while, Dao Ocean tumbled swiftly. As booming sounds reverberated through the air, the fog before Su Ming spread out to reveal a path leading into the depths. Su Ming still did not move. He still continued waiting with a calm expression.

Soon, as the fog continued tumbling and the path leading to the depths was submerged, a huge face was gradually formed by the fog. It belonged to an old man, and it was incredibly huge, seemingly occupying all of Dao Ocean.

Once that face appeared, Dao Ocean let out a shocking roar. The face moved to stand vertically from its horizontal position.

In a moment, Dao Ocean disappeared. The fog now formed the floating face. From the distance, it looked like a huge, floating head with its eyes shut.

Su Ming stared at the face. His body was like an ant compared to the face. However, a natural presence surrounded his body in an unseen manner.

After a long while, the eyes on the huge face slowly opened. There was an ancient and wise presence in them. At the instant their gazes met, the huge face lowered itself slightly.

“I am the Predecessor of Dao Ocean, the servant of the True World. Greetings, sir. You Possessed the True World and turned it into your clone, so from now on, you are my owner.”

When the face lowered itself, an ancient voice rang out. It echoed through all of Morning Dao Sect and lingered around it for a long time without disappearing.

“I do not have too many memories. They should have been sealed or wiped off. Based on the few memories I have, I know that I am one of the Antecedental Spirits tasked to protect the Worlds under the will of the four Great True Worlds.

“From the moment I can remember, I have existed in this land and was Dao Ocean. I am the servant of the True World’s will and will listen to all its commands…

“After the True World’s will became weaker, I helped maintain the balance of the True World when it fell asleep…”

Su Ming did not speak. He only stared at the face calmly and listened to its voice.

Once the old face finished, he fell silent, allowing the area to regain its peace once the echoes faded away.

“When Morning Dao Sect was destroyed, did you attack?” When the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn went past, Su Ming’s voice echoed before the face for the first time.

“My mission is to maintain the balance of the True World. All matters regarding Morning Dao Sect are not part of my mission. As for Su Xuan Yi… that person possesses a True World’s will, I cannot interfere with his actions.”

“Your mission from now on is to protect the Ninth Summit,” Su Ming stated slowly while looking at the face.

Su Ming could tell that the Predecessor of Dao Ocean was probably telling the truth. Its memories were sealed… but there were definitely some secrets to it. If it did not want to say it, then Su Ming would not ask.

In truth, the instant Su Ming Possessed the True World and formed his True World clone, he had sensed another will of an Antecedental Spirit attached to the True World. It was controlled by the True World, and this Antecedental Spirit was naturally the Predecessor of Dao Ocean before him.

Based on what Su Ming could sense, if Su Xuan Yi alone was involved in weakening True Morning Dao World’s will to the point it could be Possessed, his plan might not have been able to succeed even with tens of thousands of years of preparation.

Someone had to have been helping him in secret… and besides Predecessor of Dao Ocean before him, Su Ming could not think of anyone else.

He cast a profound glance at the face, then turned around. Su Ming no longer paid any attention to him.

The face calmly closed his eyes. When he slowly descended to resume being Dao Ocean, a sigh came from beside Su Ming.

It sounded ancient, but there we also some mixed feelings and sorrow within it.

The figure of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe appeared beside Su Ming. He stared at the huge face, and there was nostalgia as well as an ancient look on his face.

“Yun Hua… the Elder of Cold Water Tribe. You, who were one of the ten powerful warriors among the prodigies of the tribes of Wei… Is it you?” he asked softly.

The face that was about to turn into Dao Ocean jolted at that moment, but it still turned back into Dao Ocean and became the boundless fog in the area.

The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe stared at the fog in a daze. After a long while, he turned around in anguish, and with a hint of disappointment, he disappeared from Su Ming’s side.

Su Ming left. When he headed to the top layer of the tower in the sky, the one hundred something Relocation Runes outside Morning Dao Sect shone with a dazzling light. They were all activated at that instant.

At the same time, Su Ming’s voice echoed in his senior brothers’ minds. He told them to bring all the cultivators into Morning Dao Sect so that they could turn it into the Ninth Summit’s base.

Su Ming appeared at the top layer of the tower, which stood tall in the clouds. When he sat down, he raised his head and stared into the distance. His gaze pierced through everything and landed on a pale-faced blue-robed woman in a corner of True Morning Dao World.

“Madam, you left without a single word earlier. That is not how I treat my guests.”

When Su Ming spoke slowly, the air before him swiftly distorted, as if the place where he was had overlapped with the blue-robed woman’s during that instant. Her face changed, but before she could react, she was forcefully shifted to the area in front of Su Ming.

He lifted his head and looked at the beautiful woman.

“Hello,” he said softly.