Pursuit of the Truth

“Fifteenth formation!”

When those two words came out of Su Ming’s mouth, the Feng Shui compass under him began rotating with loud bangs. Light from the runic symbols shone so brilliantly that it spread one hundred thousand feet right when the sun rose on the horizon. The light was so strong that it instantly reached an astonishing degree, causing Su Ming to become the center of attention in Seven Moons Sect.

His two shadow figures appeared around him. When they became clear, they turned into his two selves standing beside his true self!

At first glance, Su Ming’s real self stood at the center, and by his sides were his shadow figures, which had power that did not lose to his real self. One looked at the sky, and the feeling as if it was looking down on the world was very strong. The other looked at the ground, and the spark of arrogance in its eyes was astonishing.

The buzz of all the disciples from the first to the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky in Seven Moons Sect disappeared at that moment. A dead silence fell upon them.

Yet soon, a commotion that was even stronger than before rose up like a loud bang.

“Fourteenth formation! His second shadow figure has already split from him! This Wang Tao… as expected of the person known as the most prodigious in the past. No wonder he was taken in as a disciple of a great sect elder. No wonder he could become a sect elder!”

“That’s right. So that’s how it is. This person’s potential is so great that it’s a rare sight in Ancient Zang. He should indeed be a sect elder!”

“Even if eldest senior brother Fei Feng and Chen Tao have already cleared more than seventeen formations, they have practiced cultivation for years, while this Wang Tao have only joined the sect recently. They just can’t compare to him!”

“Just watch. In the future, Wang Tao will definitely single-handedly lead Seven Moons Sect to power!”

“Wang Tao? You should be calling him Sect Elder Wang!”

The discussions rose and fell. Quite a number of inner sect disciples in the fourth layer were already talking about the future, and the Seven Moons Sect disciples in the third line were even more ecstatic. Their initial grumbles had long ago turned into excitement. After all… Su Ming was an Uncle-Master of theirs, and he had showed off just how astonishing his potential was.

Yue Yan was silent, but when she looked at Su Ming, there was a challenging look in her eyes. She was not the only one who felt that way. Chen Tao had already walked out of his cave abode and stood at the cliff while staring at Su Ming. The threat Su Ming posed to him was incredibly strong, but it did not mean that Su Ming was his enemy, just a competitor in the sect.

“The path of cultivation… is one in which we have to fight for power!” he murmured, and the fighting spirit in his eyes grew stronger.

As for Ye Long, he had already become numb. When he looked at Su Ming and listened to the rise and fall of the discussions in Seven Moons Sect as well as witnessed the changes of everyone’s expressions, he no longer felt any anguish. He felt as if his blood had already become bitter.

Su Ming did not bother about the various changes exhibited by the people around him. At that moment, he stood on the rapidly rotating Feng Shui compass, and he could sense the benefits it provided. If he worked together with his two shadow figures, his power would increase exponentially, and even though he still could not truly fight against those in Dao Spirit Realm, he would be able to protect himself.

If he had enough time to refine his two shadow figures, he had a vague feeling that just by relying on them, he could perhaps reach Dao Spirit Realm.

‘If I have three shadow figures, then the chances of me reaching Dao Spirit Realm will be even higher!’

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. As the Feng Shui compass under his body let out loud, booming sounds, snow floated down. It was different from the previous one. It did not land on all of Ancient Zang, but only appeared above the Feng Shui compass. When it fell, the chill coming from it was incredibly aggressive. In the blink of an eye, it covered the entire area.

“Starting from the fifteenth formation, the shadows of the four Great Lines of Nature—winter, autumn, summer, and spring—will appear. The difficulty of these four formations are incredibly high, or else Yue Yan would not have stopped at the seventeenth formation, and I… would not have stopped at the eighteenth formation!

“Since ancient times, regardless of whether they were disciples who had disappeared in the passage of time, among those of the same generation in Seven Moons Sect, only eldest senior brother Fei Feng has ever succeeded in clearing the eighteenth formation and even cleared the nineteenth formation,” said Chen Tao faintly as he stared at the snow falling from the Feng Shui compass under Su Ming while he stood on the mountain belonging to the second line.

“This Wang Tao might have great potential, but if I’m not wrong, he shows signs of coming to a premature end. I wonder… how many of the shadows of the four Great Lines of Nature will he come to understand. What do you say, Yue Yan?”

Chen Tao smiled faintly. When he spoke, Yue Yan slowly walked out from behind him to stand by his side and looked at Su Ming.

“The four seasons have shadows, and they are known as the shadows of nature. The real self in Seven Lives Art is the first life, and that is Human Life, the second and third are Earthen Lives. Once they split from you, they can receive Earthen Aura from the Human Life and fade away.

“The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh lives are Heavenly Lives. They must be understood from the four seasons. Once the seven lives are formed, they can they fuse together to become the first Dao Shadow. Only then… can we be considered to have completed the first stage of the strongest Art in Seven Moons Sect—Seven Shadow Dao,” Yue Yan said calmly.

“Seven Shadow Dao… even if just one Dao Shadow appears, we can already be considered to have entered the first level of Dao Divinity Realm, and if the real self is already in the first level of Dao Divinity Realm, we can be considered to have reached the second level!” Chen Tao smiled faintly. His words were calm, but when he spoke, he shook his head.

“I have my reasons for giving him this reminder. What about you?”

Yue Yan did not speak.

While on the Feng Shui compass, Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the second mountain. Over there, he saw two figures that had spoken words at a volume that could reach him.

“Seven Shadows Dao.”

A contemplative look appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He slowly sat down on the Feng Shui compass, and the other two shadow figures beside him did the same. The three of them began to meditate.

Time trickled by, and more snow floated down. The cold grew stronger while the darkness completely faded away, overtaken by morning light. The sun had began to rise.

“Four Great Lines of Nature. Legends have it that there were four great divine abilities during ancient times. We have gained several styles, so I wonder whether this Wang Tao will be able to gain an epiphany of them.” Chen Tao smiled, but when he looked at Su Ming, a grim look appeared in his eyes.

Yue Yan continued remaining silent.

Time passed, and gradually, the sun lifted its head. A new day arrived.

Su Ming had intended to end his challenge when dawn came, but right then, he changed his mind. The Rune provided quite a great help to him, and since he had already begun challenging it, he might as well challenge it to the limit of his abilities.

When noon arrived, more snow appeared on the Feng Shui compass, and it had already covered half of Su Ming’s body. He still did not open his eyes, however. Hidden under his eyelids, his eyes sparkled with the light of deduction. They seemed to be reflecting an epiphany only he understood.

‘Snow has its own shadow. It is faint under the sun, but if anyone looks carefully, they can see it.

‘If I want to clear the fifteenth formation, it is not difficult. As long as I can find the shadow of the snow and gain an epiphany of it as well as gain an understanding of all manner of beings having shadows, I will be able to control the shadow in the snow. It would be the same as me gaining an epiphany of the clue hidden in the fifteenth formation.

‘But… I don’t like daylight.’

Dusk gradually came, and at the instant the setting sun was about to disappear, Su Ming opened his eyes. The sun set, and the world fell into darkness at that moment.

Su Ming, with his eyes open, slowly brought his right hand up.

‘My Life Matrix had always been one of moving from midwinter to spring that brings about life, one of moving from death to life. The snow of winter symbolizes death as well as the midwinter of my Life Matrix.

‘Using winter as the fifteenth formation? It’s something I can easily clear, but I don’t want the shadow formed when snow envelops the ground while it is day. What I want… is the shadow when night envelops winter!

‘This shadow is not the shadow of snow… but the shadow of winter!

‘Judging by the looks of it, this Seven Lives Art doesn’t really suit me that well. The light from this Art is too strong, and it is at its strongest when it is used during day. At night, shadows are hidden, and it is at its weakest. What I need… what would really suit me… will be the Seven Abyss Art that I will create after I modify this Art!

‘Once I perfect it, the shadow of the land during night will become my shadow!’

A strong, dark light shone in Su Ming’s eyes. At the instant he lifted his right hand, he did not go on to grab the snow floating down. Instead, he swung his arm, and his sleeve seemed to manifest above him… to cover the sky!

As booming sounds reverberated through the air, the snow floating down instantly turned black. It was not that its color had changed, but that it was dyed black by the night, and that included all the snow around Su Ming. Once it was dyed black, Su Ming slowly stood up.

“Shadow of winter.”

At the instant he spoke, the snow in the area let out a loud bang and spread out from the Feng Shui compass. It fell from the fourth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. At the same time, the black snow that existed in the fourth layer also appeared in the third, second, and first layers of Sky Beyond the Sky!

For the first time ever… black snow floated down in the first four layers of Sky Beyond the Sky in Seven Moons Sect.

Su Ming lifted his head. Right when he looked at the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, booming sounds shook the sky and earth… and his black snow floated down in the fifth layer too!

All of Seven Moons Sect was silent at that moment. Chen Tao stared at the black snow floating down before him in a daze. He instinctively brought his hand up, and when the snow landed on his palm, he felt a stab of pain. He lowered his head, and found that he was not looking at snow. It was… the shadow of a small portion of the night sky reflected on the snow!

Yue Yan’s face was pale. When she lifted her head, Chen Tao too looked up at the night sky.

It seemed to have shattered to pieces and turned an innumerable amount of black snowflakes. They fell on the land of the living, but they were not snow. Instead, they were the shadows of the sky.

Fei Feng, the head disciple of the first line in Seven Moons Sect who meditated all year long, opened his eyes at that moment and walked out of his cave. He lifted his head calmly and looked at the sky.

At that moment, the sect elders in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky were also staring at the sky. Their expressions were solemn, and a hint of shock appeared in the eyes of some of them.

Dao Han, the red-robed man who owned the whole sixth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, stood at the top of the mountain belonging to the thirteenth line at that moment. When he looked at the sky… his pupils shrank at the sight of snow falling in the sixth layer.

“With his level of cultivation, he managed to gain an epiphany of a divine ability belonging to Dao Spirit Realm… This person is indeed extraordinary,” the red-robed man said softly, and a solemn look appeared on his face.