Pursuit of the Truth

Once the woman spoke, she turned around and walked into the distance. Su Ming stared at her back with a strange light in his eyes. The memories he had seen earlier made him think.

Su Ming did not speak. Instead, he walked into the distance after the woman.

When he arrived in an area to the left of Seven Moons Sect, he found himself among a group of buildings. There was an octagonal Rune there, and a huge pearl, which was about ten feet big, was floating above it.

From outside the Rune, the pearl looked normal and uninteresting. There was nothing striking about it, but when the woman walked into the Rune—Su Ming did not follow her straight away—the pearl shone with a brilliant, five-colored light. Strangely though, it was limited to the Rune, and not a single bit of it spilled out.

That was why Su Ming could not see the five-colored light while he was in the Rune last time. Instead, only when he waited outside the Rune did he see the light shine.

The woman looked at the five-colored pearl, then turned her head around to look at Su Ming before she spoke softly. “Wait here for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”

Her voice was very gentle, and her words suggested that she did not treat Su Ming as a junior, but instead … as an equal.

Su Ming did not say anything. He only nodded.

The woman lowered her head. When she turned around, she brought up her right hand and pointed at the pearl. It shone and looked as if it had turned into water droplets. One of them floated up and landed on the woman’s fingertip. At the instant they touched, the water drop covered the woman’s entire body and instantly brought her into the pearl.

Su Ming stared at the pearl, then his eyes sparkled. In silence, he sat down next to the Rune. His expression was one of calm. He closed his eyes and began meditating.

The pearl contained another world that looked to be located beyond the one inhabited by most people. The sky there had five colors, and the ground was divided into thirteen pieces. Each piece of land seemed to contain countless lives.

The woman stood in the sky and looked towards the thirteen continents. Eventually, her gaze fell on the third continent, and with a single move, she turned into a long arc that charged towards the third continent.

She approached it instantly and saw countless mountains standing tall on the land. There were cultivators on the mountains. When the woman arrived, they lifted their heads and looked at her. Terror appeared on their faces, and all of them prostrated themselves on the ground to worship her.

The woman charged forward until she arrived at the tallest mountain in the third continent. That mountain was shaped like a sharp blade stabbing at the sky. From a distance, it seemed to tower over everything. A ghastly, cold air spread out from it, covering the ground at the foot of the mountain in a layer of ice and snow.

“Who is it?!”

At the instant the woman approached the mountain, a thunderous voice shot out from behind the mountain. A giant which was hundreds of thousands of feet tall and covered from head to toe in blue fur showed his head.

Dark light shone in his eyes. When his voice echoed in the air, a violent gust was stirred up, causing the ice and snow from the ground to cover even the sky and everything between the sky and earth.

“I, Lan Lan, greet Fa Wang. I have a matter in my hands, and I would like to meet my Master.” The woman stopped moving. When she looked towards the giant, respect showed up on her face. She bent her head and bowed to him.

The blue-furred giant cast a glance at Lan Lan, then grinned. He nodded and retreated to the area behind the mountain, where he disappeared without a trace.

Once the blue-furred giant vanished, Lan Lan sucked in a deep breath. Determination showed up on her face, and with a single move, she turned into a long arc that charged towards the mountain. After a moment, when she drew close to the mountain, she sped up and rushed to the summit.

Soon, after moving through layers of clouds and fog, Lan Lan reached the top. There was a huge coffin placed at the summit. It was frozen in the snow and wind, and it was the only item there.

There was no lid over the coffin. Through layers of ice, a body could be seen lying inside as if dead. The person was thin, so skinny that he practically no longer looked like a man.

Lan Lan walked to the side of the frozen coffin. She stared at the body in it and stayed quiet for a long time.

“Master, I’m sorry, I have to wake you up beforehand. I ran into something I don’t understand, and this matter will affect all of Seven Moons Sect… because it concerns another great sect elder, and it also concerns… a person whose life matrix is rarely seen in Ancient Zang!

“I can’t describe this person’s life matrix, but when I see him, I have a feeling that I’ve known him for several lifetimes… Besides this, his life matrix is also entangled with Seven Moons Sect, and with one thought, he could bring it to prosper or flourish…

“I can’t make a decision. Great Sect Elder Dao Han also had signs of death… Master, please forgive me for waking you up beforehand…” Lan Lan said softly.

Once she finished speaking, she gritted her teeth. She lifted her right hand and drew it across her left arm. Blood immediately gushed out, but it did not land on the coffin. Instead, it gathered at the tip of her finger. The blood there slowly stopped being red and turned golden!

When it fell from her finger, it landed on the ice in the coffin. The drop of golden blood swiftly fused into the ice, turning it golden right before her eyes!

At the same time, the entire mountain trembled with a bang and swayed. It did so at such an intense manner that cracks began appearing on the ice in the coffin. Cracking sounds rang out, and the cracks merged together to form a huge runic symbol.

In just the span of a few breaths, the runic symbol shone with a piercing golden light, causing the ice to begin melting. As it did so, white smoke spread out, and in the blink of an eye, it enveloped the coffin.

Lan Lan took a few steps back and knelt on one knee on the ground.

More white smoke appeared as the cracking sounds grew louder. After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, all the ice melted. The white smoke spread out swiftly. It filled the area, covering the summit in what might look like clouds and fog from a distance.

When all the ice was gone, the drop of golden blood landed at the center of the body’s forehead. In the blink of an eye, it fused into the man’s skin, and endless golden light spread out from the body. It formed a wave of life force that instantly spread out through the veins, flesh, and blood in the body.

Wherever it went, the withered veins, the shriveled flesh, and the rotten blood felt seemed to be activated. When the golden light fused into the body’s already withered heart, it visible turned red… and started beating!

“Who… woke me up?!”

An old and ancient voice that seemed to have come from the past spread out at that instant. Once it appeared, all the lives on the third continent shuddered and knelt down in worship.

“I, Lan Lan, greet my Master.” Lan Lan said softly while kneeling.

“Lan… Lan…”

The voice made it seem as if the owner did not contain too much thought. When his murmurs echoed in the air, a withered arm was suddenly lifted out of the coffin. At the same time, the body in the coffin opened his eyes to reveal a pair of black eyes. The darkness in them covered the color of his pupils. The man slowly sat up in his coffin.

His body was skinny and withered. He looked like a corpse that had been dried in the wind for an unknown number of years, but at the instant he sat up, the presence spreading out from his body caused the world to be still, the air to tremble, and all sentient beings to lower their heads. It was a power that could make all lives tremble.

It stood above all cultivators, and it was… a presence that surpassed those in Dao Immortal Realm and was just one step away from belonging to Great Dao Paragons… It was the powerful presence of those in the seventh level of Dao Realm!

That presence was very weak, but even if it was weak, it was enough to destroy the universe!

“Lan… Lan… my disciple, you should not have made me wake up. The time has not come for me to wake up just yet. One will be in charge, and the other twelve will be asleep. This is an ancient tradition and also a rule we must adhere to. Only by doing so can we continue living, and only by doing so can we continue becoming stronger…

“And you… should have not made me wake up beforehand. This era is the era of Great Sect Elder Dao Han. This is the era in which he is in charge of Seven Moons Sect. During an era… there can not be two great sect elders existing at the same time!

“And you… went against the great law of the sect. You made me wake up three hundred aeons beforehand…”

The withered body sat in the coffin while speaking with anger evident in his voice. It echoed in the world and the heavens, causing the rumbling sounds from the third continent to shake the sky.

Violent gusts of wind howled. When the body spoke, a huge face appeared in front of Lan Lan. It roared as if it wanted to devour her.

“A person with a life matrix rarely seen in Ancient Zang has appeared, and your disciple…” Lan Lan gritted her teeth. Just as she was about to continue speaking, the huge illusory face contorted to turn into a huge hand that pressed down at the top of her skull.

Lan Lan did not dodge. Instead, she closed her eyes and simply allowed the palm to fall on her. At the instant it touched the top of her skull, the palm stopped moving. Waves of her memories were instantly sensed by the man.

After a moment, the palm disappeared. At the same time, the man in the coffin slowly stood up. When he did so, the fog in the area immediately tumbled backwards. It charged towards him and fused into his body, so flesh and blood grew on him until he was no longer a withered husk of a human.

When a shine showed up on his skin, the clouds and fog turned into a simple and unsophisticated sky blue Daoist Robe, and it was draped on a… middle-aged man who had an enchantingly beautiful face and who looked like a woman!

“Bring that person called Wang Tao over… You did well in this matter. You should have made me wake up earlier, my child.”

The middle-aged man walked out of the coffin. When he looked at Lan Lan, there was a gentle look on his face, as well as a kind and loving expression.