Pursuit of the Truth

Rain poured harder. When it fell on the ground, it created pitter-patter sounds. There seemed to be some sort of pattern in that sound, causing those who had heard it for long to naturally feel as if they wanted to fall asleep.

Different sounds could be heard when raindrops struck the roof or the wooden shed where Su Ming was. Those sounds fused together and turned into a song of the world. However, if a cultivator listened to it with their heart, they would not be able to hear much of a difference. Only when they listened to the quiet of midnight with a mortal heart would they be able to find just how pleasing this tune of nature was while they were dozing off.

However, there were always other sounds that would disrupt the tune of the rain in the night. One such sounds reached the house while Su Ming was dozing off.

“Boy, my memory is bad. Remember this. Tomorrow, go to the blacksmith to the east of the village and bring two dogs. If any thief drops by during the night and steals our axe, we’ll be really unlucky.”

The old man’s voice came from the house, traveled through the rain, and landed in Su Ming’s ears while he was in the shed. Su Ming did not speak, but at that moment, a brilliant glint flashed swiftly in his eyes.

He could feel a vague sense of danger, and he could… hear the rain landing, but it did not land on the ground or any houses. Instead… it seemed to have landed in the air, as if there was some invisible barrier.

‘Someone’s here.’

The brilliant glint in Su Ming’s eyes slowly faded away, but killing intent bloomed in the depths of his eyes. Clearly, the people who had come did not want to cause trouble for the old man. After all, he was located in a place no one knew about.

That meant that unless the strangers were just passing by, they had to have come in search of… Su Ming.

‘If those who sound nine Dao Spirit Voices do not die, they will surely become Great Dao Paragons. Looks like these two phrases will be verified on me today.’

Su Ming’s expression was one of calm. From the moment he let out the voice of his Life Matrix and made it his ninth Dao Spirit Voice, he knew that… there would definitely be quite a number of cultivators who would want to kill him in Ancient Zang, especially those from One Dao Sect and Asura Clan.

‘One Dao Sect, Asura Clan… The cultivators from Asura Clan still have morals. As for One Dao Sect… if there comes a day when I become a Great Dao Paragon, I will definitely slaughter them and dye their sect with their blood!’

The killing intent in Su Ming’s eyes was already shining with blood-red light.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning sliced through the sky. Light instantly illuminated the ground to reveal a skinny figure levitating above the courtyard. It also revealed a rather plump cultivator who had, at some point in time, sat down cross-legged on the house’s roof!

At the instant the two figures appeared in the lightning, a loud, thunderous roar shook the skies and earth.

“Third prince, we’ve truly had a hard time searching for you.”

The skinny cultivator levitating above the courtyard smiled faintly. His body seemed to become a plane that covered the world from the rain, so no more droplets fell on the ground while he stood in midair.

Su Ming had already walked out of the shed. Dressed in sackcloth, he coldplay looked at the skinny cultivator, then cast another glance at the cultivator sitting on the roof.

The two people gave Su Ming a feeling that he was facing against the great sect elders of Seven Moons Sect. The two were clearly Dao Paragons!

The seventh level of Dao Divinity Realm allowed the cultivators to go from Dao Spirit Realm to Dao Immortal Realm, which made them Dao Paragons. With one more step, they would become Great Dao Paragons who were revered by the world. However, the difficulty in taking that one step… was so high that there were less than thirty people who had managed to reach that Realm throughout the long history of Ancient Zang.

“Those who sound nine Dao Spirit Voices are bound to become Great Dao Paragons, but a pity… If you weren’t the third prince, then all sects and clans would definitely treat you like a treasure. A pity… that you will not have the chance to become a Great Dao Paragon in your life.”

The skinny cultivator sighed softly. While in midair, he lifted his right hand swiftly and pushed in Su Ming’s direction.

Immediately, a pentagonal Rune appeared above Su Ming and sank down swiftly. It let out thick waves of black smoke and looked like it wanted to turn into a huge hand to grab Su Ming.

It might not have looked like there was anything extraordinary about it, but in truth, the rune had already locked the place around Su Ming. The sky and earth seemed to be locked down!

Su Ming’s expression remained the same. He formed a seal with his hands and swung his hand at the incoming pentagonal Rune. A loud rumble shot up, and it sounded like the roar of thunder. A hint of derision appeared on the skinny cultivator’s lips, but the next moment, his pupils shrank.

Su Ming walked out from behind the skinny cultivator. At the speed of lightning, he lifted his right hand, and the four Great True Worlds’ wills, along with his power of Dao Spirit Realm fused together and were channeled to his finger!

It contained power beyond compare. The instant the skinny cultivator’s expression changed, he turned around and swung his arm. Su Ming’s finger came into contact with him at that moment!

Booming sounds rose into the air again, and blood trickled down his lips. He moved swiftly backwards. As for the skinny cultivator, he took a step forward, intending to give chase, but Su Ming instantly disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was already standing in the courtyard.

The skinny cultivator lowered his head and cast a glance at his left hand. There was a bloody hole in it and a presence that even he found hard to handle. That presence spread to his entire body through his flesh and blood.

“Even though you used the Rune in this area to help you, you should still be proud for being able to hurt me with just the power of Dao Spirit Realm.”

The skinny cultivator’s expression was dark. To him, such an injury was nothing, even though he still felt that the presence left behind was strange. However, he was confident that he could chase it out of his body. It was the fact that he had been injured before his fellow sect member what caused him to be angry.

Because of his cautious personality, Su Ming had laid out quite a number of Runes and killing moves in the courtyard where he lived. Once anyone stepped into it, then with one thought, Su Ming could activate those Runes and killing moves.

Su Ming stood calmly in the courtyard. His face was pale, but when he lifted his head to look at the skinny cultivator, fighting spirit shone in his eyes. He flicked his right wrist slightly, and immediately, the rain in the courtyard turned into white smoke. The next moment, all the sand in the courtyard began trembling.

“If you want to fight, then fight. If you don’t want to, then get lost! Why bother spewing nonsense?!”

When Su Ming said those words coldly, the white fog formed by the rain in the courtyard instantly curled into the sky to form a circular Rune. The moment it appeared, it began rotating swiftly. Booming sounds echoed, and Su Ming seized the air in the direction of the ground with his right hand. Immediately, an innumerable amount of sand flew up. When Su Ming brought his hand up, each grain of sand charged into the sky with the Brands Su Ming had left over the course of a couple months.

“As expected, you are still too weak,” the skinny cultivator said indifferently while looking very calm, but in truth, his pupils had already shrunken, and that alone was a telling sign of the shock in his heart.

However, because he believed that his level of cultivation was slightly higher and there were other people watching, he had to keep his expression full of indifference while hiding the wariness in his heart. He could not ruin his own reputation.

As he spoke, the skinny cultivator lifted his right hand. When he formed a seal, he pushed down at the ground. Booming sounds immediately reverberated through the air. A crack seemed to have been torn through the sky above him, and a hint of gold descended. It turned into a large golden seal that charged to the ground.

When the golden mark descended, a loud bang shot up. The white fog around the skinny cultivator instantly dissipated. When the seal pushed down again, the sand was crushed, but right then, Su Ming had already activated another killing move.

When he lifted his right hand, the Reversed Spirit Pearl shone. A huge wave of power immediately spread out from the pearl. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped the skinny cultivator, making his expression change, but soon, it returned to that of calm. He still let out a cold harrumph.

With a step forward, he moved to attack, but the Reversed Spirit Pearl shone again, and this time, a powerful rebound rose from it with a bang, forcing the skinny cultivator to take a few steps back. His pupils shrank, and when he cast a closer look at the Reversed Spirit Pearl, his expression suddenly changed.

“This is… Phala of Dao Verification!”

Almost the instant the skinny cultivator said those words, the rather plump cultivator who had been watching the fight with a smile while sitting on the roof suddenly focused. With his level of cultivation, even he could not stop the hint of greed that appeared in his eyes. Without another word, he took a step forward and charged towards Su Ming.

At that moment, the skinny cultivator let out a sigh of relief in his heart. He had intentionally said those words because Su Ming had given him quite a lot of pressure, but due to his pride and dignity, he had to remain calm. However, once he recognized the pearl, he immediately revealed its origin so the other person would attack and help him out of the troublesome situation.

When using the Runes, the traps he laid out, the Reversed Spirit Pearl, which had quite the extraordinary power, his cultivation base, and his will to fight against a Dao Paragon, he was able to fight against him… but if two Dao Paragons attacked, then it would be difficult for him to survive.

When he saw that he was about to be forced into a corner and die, a dry cough came from the house.

“See? I told you to get two dogs from the west of the village to act as guard dogs, and look! My words came true. I told you that there will be thieves who will come to steal our axe!

“It is the most valuable thing in our house right now, you know? Y-y-you… Pick up the axe! If anyone steals it, I’ll fight tooth and nail against you!”

After hearing that speech, the two Dao Paragons were stunned. They had not expected that a mortal would hide in his house to watch the battle of Arts, and what was more, once he saw it, he even spoke and called them thieves.

A glint shone in Su Ming’s eyes; he seemed to have come to understand something. He lifted his right hand and seized the air in the direction of the axe that was not far from him. The axe instantly flew into his hand.

Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the two cultivators, and his heart suddenly shuddered.

For some reason, what he saw seemed to no longer be cultivators… but two logs of wood!