Pursuit of the Truth

When the roars appeared and the pearl shone, the thirteen great sect elders around Su Ming instantly focused on the pearl.

Even Gu Tai narrowed his eyes slightly. Clearly, he had not expected that this sort of change would happen when the pearl entered Su Ming’s hands. After all, he had personally acquired the pearl, and it had never showed this sort reaction before.

Su Ming’s expression was calm. He did not show any happiness or anger. Once he held the pearl in his right hand, his divine sense surged inside it. He could immediately sense the soul of the illusory Harmonious Morus Alba in the universe within the pearl. He also sensed that the soul of the Harmonious Morus Alba seemed to have lost sentience. At that moment… it was only a Vessel Spirit!

But Su Ming did not care about it. What he cared about were his wills from the four Great True Worlds. The moment he sensed the soul of Harmonious Morus Alba, he felt as if he had touched his own will!

Immediately after, the four wills belonging to Su Ming instantly charged towards his divine sense and fused with it. Once they came into contact, the first will Su Ming sensed was True Morning Dao World’s will!

It had always belonged to Su Ming. Once it fused with his divine sense, a presence that had distinct differences from cultivation bases erupted from Su Ming, and it was enough to make the expressions of the thirteen great sect elders change.

The presence had no form, but it caused Su Ming’s long hair to dance, his robes to flutter, and Gu Tai’s expression to become much more solemn.

‘This is…’

Gu Tai focused his attention on Su Ming. He had a vague feeling that the invisible force surrounding Su Ming seemed rather familiar…

As for the others, they could only sense the invisible power. They had never heard of it before, but they could sense that it… seemed to contain a powerful force, which caused their hearts to tremble.

The next moment, the power of Su Ming’s will increased again. Soundless roars shot up. No one could hear them, but Su Ming felt as if there was thunder roaring in his heart. Amid its rumbles, he sensed True Immortal Sect World’s will!

The two great wills fused together, causing the invisible presence to become thicker, and the great sect elders around Su Ming paid even more attention to him. As Su Ming’s will grew stronger, the faint feeling of danger he brought made their expressions change.

“This… This is…”

Gu Tai’s expression suddenly changed drastically. Shock even appeared in his eyes at that moment, which was an expression that had been absent from his face for many years. Even when Sen Mu had come, Gu Tai had not behaved in this manner!

Gu Tai even stood up swiftly… with incredulity and astonishment in his eyes.

At that moment, Su Ming sensed the Emperor of Abyss’ True World’s will from the pearl. When it returned to him, he shuddered slightly, and his will erupted with a bang.

The return of his wills and the feeling of having them back was something that Su Ming had not sensed for quite some time. At that moment, he even gained the feeling that he had when he was in Harmonious Morus Alba’s universe!

It was the feeling that the strength of his will was so great that he could control the universe around him at will!

The sky in the seventh layer of Sky Beyond the Sky instantly became murky. The ground trembled, and the air around him seemed to be quivering. It began tumbling about violently.

This scene caused all of the great sect elders to stand up. They saw Gu Tai’s shock and also sensed… the terrifying presence that was rapidly increasing about Su Ming!

There seemed to be a power that did not belong to Ancient Zang on Su Ming, and it was waking up with a roar!

‘This is the presence of a ninth level Dao God!’

Once Gu Tai’s expression changed rapidly a few times, he did not say anything aloud. He just exclaimed in disbelief in his heart.

He was the only person who had fought against the three great ninth level Dao Gods before and did not die, which was why his understanding towards ninth level Dao Gods was much greater than of other people.

The other great sect elders in the land would not know the invisible presence, but Gu Tai could clearly sense that it… was the power of a ninth level Dao God!

‘This isn’t Tian Xiu Luo’s presence nor Emperor of Ancient Zang’s presence, much less Old Monster Feng Lie’s presence. This is… the fourth presence of a ninth level Dao God that has appeared for the first time in Ancient Zang!’

At that moment, a different light lit up in Gu Tai’s eyes.

At that moment, Su Ming sensed True Sky Hill World’s will in the pearl. When it fused with him and all four great wills returned to him, Su Ming opened his eyes, and his will erupted from him with a bang. It swept through the area and made the great sect elders’ eyes shine brilliantly. It also caused Gu Tai to be even more certain… that he had not made a wrong judgement!

Su Ming’s wills gradually faded away. Once they returned to his body, the pearl in his hand became slightly duller. Su Ming did not return it, however. Since Gu Tai had said that he could gift him with external objects, Su Ming flipped his right hand over and put the pearl into his storage bag.

While his level of cultivation remained at Dao Spirit Realm and his appearance did not change, the current Su Ming seemed to have become a different man in the eyes of the great sect elders. The change in his temperament formed a presence that was born once a person’s heart had become powerful, and was one Su Ming himself did not notice.

Gu Tai stared at Su Ming. Once his eyes became brighter, he suddenly laughed loudly.

“Third prince, you gave me a great, pleasant surprise. It’s something I never expected. This surprise is completely worth me giving everything of mine to you!”

When Gu Tai’s laughter echoed in the air, Su Ming smiled faintly. “Please call me Su Ming.”

“Su Ming… Su Ming… Alright, Su Ming. I was originally worried about our chances of snatching the Phala, but now, we can change our plans a little. We of Seven Moons Sect will first prepare the event of you sounding your Dao Spirit Voice, and then, I will bring you to meet a senior.

“If this senior will acknowledge you, your chances of success in the competition over the Phala will become much greater! And before you snatch the Phala, I will make arrangements to search for the Space Whip. I will need you to work with us on this, though. If we manage to find the Space Whip, then with Seven Moons Sect’s full strength, you will have seven-tenths of a chance to obtain the Phala!

“Once you obtain the Phala and step into Dao Immortal Realm, you will rise to power in Ancient Zang!” When Gu Tai’s laughter echoed in the air, all the great sect elders could sense the delight radiating from him.

“Su Ming, you don’t need to return to the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky. With the Reversed Spirit Pearl, you can go to the sixth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky to train. If we are quick, we will only need half a month, and if we are slow, we will need a full month to finish our preparations for you to sound your Dao Spirit Voice. Then, all of Ancient Zang will know of your existence!”

As Gu Tai laughed, Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to him, then looked at Xu Zhong Fan, who was standing close by with delight on his face. Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to him as well.

Xu Zhong Fan’s smile grew even wider. He nodded repeatedly, then, as if he had remembered something, he brought out a jade slip and handed it to Su Ming.

“My epiphanies when I sounded my Dao Spirit Voice are in this slip. Take it and try to understand them.”

Su Ming took the jade slip, then gazed at Xu Zhong Fan for a while before shifting his gaze away and nodded at him. When he bowed at him again, he turned around and took a step into the air before disappearing without a trace. When he reappeared, he had already stepped into the sixth layer of Sky Beyond of Sky through the Reversed Spirit Pearl!

There was not a single person there. Without the Reversed Spirit Pearl, even Dao Han could not enter, so it Su Ming’s cave abode.

He did not go to any other place. He went to the mountain belonging to the third line in the sixth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky and sat down in front of the house on the cliff.

A brilliant sparkle appeared in his eyes. It was a look of confidence that he gained in the unfamiliar Ancient Zang after he obtained the four great wills.

The power of the wills was like Su Ming’s Time Reversal Art. They were both things that had never appeared in Ancient Zang. It was something he could tell from the reactions of the Great Sect Elders of Seven Moons Sect.

Only…

‘Sect Elder Gu Tai seems to have noticed something…’

Su Ming pondered over it for a while. Gu Tai might not have said anything, but he had to have understood some things. Even if that was the case, Su Ming would not continue thinking about the matter. Instead, he brought out the jade slip Xu Zhong Fan had given him. Once he scanned it with his divine sense, his eyes fell shut. He became immersed in his meditation to stabilize his power of Dao Spirit Realm.

He could sense that his cultivation base was not stable. After all, he had forcefully reached this Realm after fusing with the Seven Lives Art and formed his Dao Shadow, which was why Su Ming also had some form of understanding towards the sounding of the Dao Spirit Voice. Xu Zhong Fang’s jade slip had a lot of records regarding this, so Su Ming’s understanding towards sounding the Dao Spirit Voice increased.

‘In truth, the first and second levels of the nine levels of Dao Divinity Realm are there to form the Dao Body. After the third level, the Dao Spirit is formed. After the seventh level, the spirit will turn into a paragon. When the eighth level is achieved, the Dao Paragon will reach his peak and will be known as the Great Dao Paragon!

‘If I want to stabilize my cultivation base of Dao Spirit Realm, I have to turn into a spirit and fuse with the world to become a spirit of the world. Only then will I be able to completely step into Dao Spirit Realm. This is a process of turning the Dao Body into a Dao Spirit.

‘It will involve me sounding the Dao Spirit Voice. With my voice, I will verify my Dao and will fuse with the world!’ Su Ming closed his eyes.

‘One is the beginning, three is greatness, six is power, and nine is the peak… The sounding of Dao Spirit Voice can allow others to see a person’s potential and affinity. Since ancient times, those who have reached Dao Spirit Realm sound from one to six voices. There are few who do it seven, and even fewer eight times. Nine is extremely rare. All those who sounded nine voices have already become Great Dao Paragons!

‘I wonder how many voices I will be able to sound!’

Su Ming opened his eyes, and a dark glint showed up within them.