Pursuit of the Truth

At the instant the fifth Feng Shui compass appeared, a buzzing sound that could not be described with words stirred up in the Seven Moons Sect. The many outer sect disciples in the first layer of Sky Beyond the Sky all sucked in a sharp breath. They stared at the sky with wide eyes and disbelief on their faces.

They could not believe that the fifth Feng Shui compass had appeared before the seventh formation had been cleared!

“What-what’s going on?!”

“I’ve been in the outer sect for many years. Besides Ye Long, I’ve also seen many inner sect disciples clear the Rune, but this is the first time… I’ve seen something like this!”

As the outer sect disciples went into an outburst, the Sect Master of Outer Sect, the white-robed scholar and the former guide for Ye Long let out a soft sigh. He knew that Ye Long’s pride would not let him accept that there was someone else in his generation who was stronger than him. That was why he had issued all those challenges, and that was also why such a sight… would deal an incredibly great blow to him.

“Ye Long… lost. He completely lost. He chose the wrong opponent.” The white-robed scholar lifted his head and looked at Su Ming, who was among the five Feng Shui compasses. A hint of respect appeared in his eyes!

That respect was not due to Su Ming’s status, but because of Su Ming’s actions. The white-robed scholar was the Sect Master of the Outer Sect, and he had been in Seven Moons Sect for many years, which meant that he understood the meaning of what was happening right then.

It was… something that would only happen after a person had come to gain an epiphany of the first nine formations. It did not mean that Su Ming was about to challenge the seventh formation, and neither was he going to clear the eighth or the ninth formations. It was… the tenth formation!

“He jumped straight from the seventh formation to the tenth formation… There has not been many who managed to do this since ancient times.” The other attendants of the outer sect around the middle-aged scholar looked towards Su Ming with respect in their gazes.

The disciples from the second layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were in the same state of commotion as the outer sect disciples in the first layer. In fact, the uproar there was no quieter. At that moment, all the cultivators from the second layer were standing on their mountains and staring at Su Ming in disbelief.

They were inner sect disciples, and they knew what they were seeing, because they had seen it before. They had seen some who had succeeded, and they had also seen those who had failed, but when it happened, all those who tried to challenge the Feng Shui compass like that became famous people in Seven Moons Sect.

It was at that moment that everyone understood just how stunning was the appearance of the fifth Feng Shui compass!

“The tenth formation!”

“This is the tenth formation. This Wang Tao… gained an epiphany during the seventh formation and caused the Rune to change, so the tenth formation appeared!”

While the second layer of Sky Beyond of Sky was buzzing with noise, the commotion that stirred in the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky was also astonishing. There was no longer derision in the cultivators’ eyes; it had been replaced by excitement and anticipation.

They longed for Su Ming to succeed. They were excited to see it happen because it did not seem… like he would stop just there!

Compared to the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the third layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, the core disciples in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky all had differing expressions. They stares were fixated on Su Ming, since they had an even more thorough understanding of the tenth formation. The shock in their hearts was even stronger because of that.

The disciples who had mentioned previously that Su Ming was about to challenge the tenth formation had excitement on their faces. When they looked at Su Ming, the mockery on their faces had turned into expectation.

And those cultivators who cleared the tenth formation had respect appear in their eyes when they stared at Su Ming as well. At that moment… it could be said that there was not a single gaze that contained the derision they once had!

Su Ming had used his actions to crush all the scorn targeted towards him! It was especially so for the people from the third line. Right then, their excitement and cheers were even strongest and the loudest. Quite a number of them seemed to have accepted Su Ming, changing sides in a battle!

However, they had just accepted Su Ming as an equal. They did not have the respect towards him as a senior. Whether or not their acceptance would eventually turn into respect would depend on… which formation Su Ming would eventually stumble!

“It’s impossible for him to succeed! It’s not so easy to clear the tenth formation! I’ll watch him fail!”

“Indeed, if the tenth formation could be cleared that easily, I wouldn’t have needed to try eight times to clear it!”

There were quite a few people saying such words in the fourth layer. As their discussion echoed in the air, Ye Long stared at the five Feng Shui compasses before him, and blood trickled out the corners of his mouth. He took a few staggering steps back, and when he fell down on one knee, he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood.

He struggled to lift his head with anguish on his face.

“I can’t accept this.”

When he mumbled those words, Su Ming lifted his head to look at the even larger fifth Feng Shui compass that had appeared above him. His expression was still the same. When the fifth Feng Shui compass rotated with a bang, waves of mighty pressure instantly descended on Su Ming.

For the first time ever, he had a feeling as if his body was about to split while under the mighty pressure. The sensation was very weak, but it still managed to excite Su Ming. He observed the mighty pressure without caring that it was descending on him. Instead, he paid attention to the patterns of the five Feng Shui compasses’ rotations.

When he saw figures on the five Feng Shui compasses which looked like his own shadows, his eyes sparkled.

‘This Rune helps Seven Moons Sect disciples split their shadows from themselves… and it’s the strongest in the five Feng Shui compasses that appear in the first nine formations. Once all of them appear, the feeling of splitting apart is meant for people to experience it. If a person can endure it, they will be able to split their first shadow figure! It is the second life mentioned in the Seven Lives Art, the one besides the person’s very own life!

‘I’ve already had a shadow figure split from my shadow, so I don’t need the Rune to help me split my shadow, but I wonder if my shadow continues to split, will another shadow figure appear?’

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled, and he slowly closed his eyes to sense the feeling of being split apart so that he could check his thoughts.

Time passed, and soon, the time it takes for one incense stick to burn was over. The people who were observing Su Ming in Seven Moons Sect were waiting to see whether he would succeed. They were not in a hurry, because all those who challenged the tenth formation would require quite a large amount of time to clear it. The longest stretch of time had lasted for several months, and the shortest was several days.

But when the time it takes for an incense stick to burn was over, Su Ming’s eyes flew open. There was a hint of regret in them.

‘The first nine Runes… or rather, the tenth formation is a little low in grade. Since I’ve already had a shadow figure split from my shadow, the formation is of no use to me. But I’m quite interested in it after seeing what it can do.’

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled. A faint smile appeared on his lips, and he lifted his right hand. This time, he did not swing his arm, but pushed his palm at the center of his brow. With it, the shadows appeared on the other Feng Shui compasses and gained corporeal form. The five Feng Shui compasses let out loud bangs, and the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the area were completely stunned.

Their jaws fell slack in disbelief when they saw the five Feng Shui compasses… overlap with each other while the loud bangs roared in the air.

Su Ming’s illusory figures on them also overlapped with one another. When the loud bang shook all the people’s hearts, they saw…

Besides a huge Feng Shui compass left in the sky, another Su Ming had appeared across from the original one!

It was Su Ming’s shadow figure. When it stood there, the first four layers of Seven Moons Sect instantly fell into dead silence. After a moment though, a loud commotion that did not lose to the one previously shot up into the air.

“This… This is… He actually succeeded!”

“In just the time it takes an incense stick to burn? He cleared it in just the time it takes an incense stick to burn! That’s impossible!”

“He actually managed to clear the tenth formation. This is… but it’s too fast. Could it be that the first ten formations are truly that easy for him? Wang Tao, Wang Tao, the Chosen eight years ago… Could it be that after being silent for eight years, he appeared to shock all of Seven Moons Sect!”

“It’s impossible for him to stop now. Could it be that he wants to challenge the head disciples in charge of each line and clear thirteen formations?!

“If he can clear the fourteenth formation, he would obtain two shadow figures, and it would mean that he has managed to perfect the Three Lives Art!”

“What a joke. Starting from the eleventh formation, the Shadow of Punishment will appear. The many shadows are refined from the shadows from the cultivators we of Seven Moons Sect have killed over countless years. If this Wang Tao is lucky, he will run into the weaker ones, but if he has bad luck… Heh heh…”

“You can’t say that. While the Shadows of Punishment will indeed appear starting from the eleventh formation, each formation has a limit to their power. It’s impossible for a shadow that surpasses the limit of the formation’s power to appear.”

The commotion reverberated through the air. Compared to the fourth layer’s understanding of the Rune, the understanding of the cultivators in the third layer was not great, but they could still see some things. That rainy night was bound to be unforgettable for them.

The outer sect disciples from the first layer and those from the second layer were in an uproar. Their voices echoed in the air, causing Seven Moons Sect to be in a state of commotion that it had never experienced before.

Ye Long had already lowered his head and no longer looked at Su Ming. Even the unwillingness to admit defeat in his heart had turned into numbness, and then, to stillness.

He had lost. He had completely lost.

It was at the instant Su Ming cleared the tenth formation that he… was noticed by the powerful warriors whose level of cultivation were second only to the head disciples and head disciples who were in charge of leading the thirteen mountains in the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky.

However, the level of attention they gave him differed due to the difference in the number of formations each head disciple had cleared. The head disciple from the first line, Fei Feng, remained seated in his own cave abode without any changes in his expression. He did not even open his eyes, as if Su Ming’s act of clearing the tenth formation was not something that posed a threat to him nor even something that would require Fei Feng to pay attention to him.

He was not the only one acting like that. Chen Tao of the second line—a man with a rather sullen face—also remained seated in his cave abode. He did not pay any attention to the matters in the outside world.

But it was different… for the eldest senior sister Yue Yan, who had previously spoken from the third line. Her eyes were as clear as water, and she had been paying attention to Su Ming since the start. At that moment, a fierce glare gradually appeared in her eyes.

“Where… will your limit be?” she wondered softly.

When the cultivators from the fourth layer gathered their gazes on Su Ming, he slowly lifted his head to stare at the night sky above him.

“I like darkness… Then, before daylight, let’s see how many formations I will clear.”

Su Ming lifted his right hand and swung his arm at the sky.

“Eleventh formation!”

When his voice echoed in the air, thunder roared. Clouds tumbled and spread outwards to reveal a clear piece of night sky adorned by stars. The starlight gathered swiftly on the Feng Shui compass where Su Ming stood to form a shadow!

“Who… awakened my shadow? Three thousand years ago, I was killed by the thrice cursed sect elder of the ninth line in Seven Moons Sect… I am Guru Xing Chen!”