Pursuit of the Truth

At the instant the black-robed man looked at the ancient Tree of Dao Verification with an aloof expression while standing in the air right in front of the talisman sealing the scar in the sky, the boy who appeared on the tree crown lifted his right hand and pushed at the Tree of Dao Verification under him.

With it, the boy’s youthful voice echoed in the shattered world, and it contained a tone that seemed to have come from his very bones.

“Dao Verification!”

At the instant he spoke, a great suction force that could not be described with words spread out from his body. That suction force was so powerful that it instantly enveloped the entire Tree of Dao Verification.

During that instant… the shattering dimension around the tree instantly tumbled back, and when the fragments fell back, they distorted and turned into ripples that rushed to the boy.

The sky looked to have been lifted. It shattered layer by layer, and the shattered parts distorted. They seemed to melt into ripples that disappeared as if they were sucked into the Tree of Dao Verification. When Su Ming looked over, the sky… was no longer the sky. It had turned into a vast, empty space.

At the same time, under the suction force, the ground—which was originally also crumbling—rumbled and shattered to powder. The mountains and rivers on all crumbled. The ground tuned into a dust storm that charged to the Tree of Dao Verification.

Even the destroyed second layer and first layer fell back at that moment. The shattered parts joined the dust storm and were completely sucked into the huge Tree of Dao Verification, which was the only thing still standing tall in the dimension.

The suction force had not only affected the world, but also the cultivators.

The second prince was the first one who could not withstand the force, and his body was instantly dragged into the Tree of Dao Verification. With a bang, he was stuck to the tree, and he could not move a single inch. When panic appeared on his face, the headless figure shuddered, unable to fight against the madness of the Tree of Dao Verification. His body was instantly surrounded by numerous branches as if he had become a part of the ancient tree.

The Great Dao Paragon Lin Dong Dong might have been slightly further away, but under the suction force, it did not matter how he tried to fight back. He could not stop his body from being yanked to the tree by the suction force, and just like the second prince, he became a part of the ancient tree.

Only Su Ming alone was not affected by the astonishing suction force from the ancient Tree of Dao Verification despite being able to sense it. At that moment, the six Dao Spirits in his third eye were swiftly merging together, causing Su Ming to have no time to care about anything else around him. He sat down cross-legged in the air to experience the process of turning into a Dao Paragon and moving from Dao Spirit Realm to Dao Immortal Realm.

At the same time, the boy on the Tree of Dao Verification’s crown slowly lifted his right hand, and the Tree of Dao Verification immediately started trembling loudly and letting out astonishingly loud bangs. The Tree of Dao Verification looked like it was about to wither, like all of its power had been sucked away at to fuse into the boy’s right hand.

The child glared at the shadow of the Emperor in the sky when he lifted his head.

“Dao Verification, open the sky!”

The boy’s youthful voice had an indescribably firm tone at that moment. It held his desire to go home, and that desire had reached its burning point. He was letting out his feelings of being oppressed and sealed for countless years once they had reached a boiling point. At the moment he spoke, he flew up in a long arc and charged towards the illusory shadow of the Emperor.

The boy looked weak, but his strength was greater than that of anyone in the dimension. His voice was youthful, but the emotions contained in his voice towards his home pertained a determination that would cause other people’s hearts to ache for him.

He did not move quickly… but at that moment, he had the full power of the Tree of Dao Verification gathered on him. The power of the first and second princes’ cultivation bases had also become a part of him at that moment, regardless of whether they were willing or not.

With resolve and longing for home, the boy called Hao Hao appeared in front of the black-robed man, which was the indestructible will of the Emperor of Ancient Zang. He lifted his right hand and tore at the air in the Emperor’s direction.

The moment he did so, the black-robed man lifted his right hand as well. His expression remained calm, as if as a will, he had no emotions. With his right hand, he pushed towards the incoming Hao Hao.

“Punishment!”

It was still just that one word, but when he said it, an astounding dark light erupted from his right palm. From within it, nine bolts of black lightning instantly charged out at Hao Hao.

They instantly crashed into him. The nine bolts of lightning roared thunderously, and all of them landed on Hao Hao, but when they struck him, they crumbled and turned into electrical sparks that spread out in arcs around his body.

From the distance, Hao Hao looked to have broken through the nine bolts of lightning like a hot knife slicing into butter. He closed in on the black-robed man, but right when he collided against him… the dark light shining from the black-robed man’s palm lines instantly reached an indescribable brightness. Each of his palm lines seemed to have turned into mountain ranges to suppress Hao Hao, the Tree of Dao Verification!

Booming sounds rang nonstop when Hao Hao’s right hand came into contact with the black-robed man’s. The sound that came from that strike turned into a wave of impact that could tear through everything. When it swept outwards in all directions, Hao Hao let out a battle cry with determination in his voice, and the black-robed man’s body instantly became even more faded away.

The shadow became fainter with each passing moment, but the moment the black-robed man looked as if he was about to disappear, he shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he pushed his right hand forward almost violently.

With it, the booming sounds in the air became much louder, and Hao Hao looked to have been blown away by a violent gust of wind. With an unwillingness to admit defeat and grief… the boy vanished.

At the same time, the Tree of Dao Verification jolted. A large number of branches crumbled, and even the tree crown that could replace the sky shattered. Hao Hao’s body then appeared again on the tree crown. This time, he was very blurry, and he looked to be crying as he stared at the sky and the scar in it as if he was looking at his home.

When part of the ancient Tree of Dao Verification shattered, the second prince coughed up blood. He summoned the headless figure, and both of them turned into long arcs. They left as fast as they could manage while the second prince’s heart was filled with fear.

Lin Dong Dong was the same. With a pale face, he immediately widened the distance between him and the Tree of Dao Verification at the instant the suction force disappeared. When he turned his head around, there was rarely seen terror in his eyes.

It was also at that moment that Su Ming opened his eyes. When he did so, the six Dao Spirits in his third eye completed the final fusion, and from Dao Spirit Realm, he reached Dao Immortal Realm. He became a Dao Paragon!

Su Ming’s six overlapping Dao Spirits could be seen exuding a golden light within his third eye. That light was incredibly strong and seemed capable of dyeing the whole world gold.

A Dao Paragon’s power spread out continuously from Su Ming’s body at that moment. It swept out in every direction, causing his hair to move without wind.

Dao Paragons were also known as Dao Immortals, and they gained that status once they had six overlapping Dao Spirits! With seven overlapping Dao Spirits, they would attain great completion of Dao Immortal Realm, and with eight overlapping Dao Spirits… they would become Great Dao Paragons!

At that moment, Su Ming had already reached Dao Immortal Realm. In fact, he had a vague feeling that he seemed to have already arrived at the edge of attaining great completion. He could already see… the path to become a Great Dao Paragon.

“Help me… Help me… You said before that you will come home with me…”

When Su Ming became a Dao Paragon, Hao Hao’s sorrowful voice reached his ears. Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the boy watching him from the tree crown.

He saw the boy’s determination and sadness. No one else could understand that sadness… only Su Ming, because he was the same as Hao Hao. They had both lost their homes…

“I want to go home… I miss home… Help me, help me, please…” The boy stared at Su Ming while pleading with him quietly. Each of his words touched Su Ming’s heart.

There had been a time when he was the same as the boy. He had lost his home, all the familiar faces around him, and at that time, he could only remember all the faces in his memories in silence.

“How… should I help you?” Su Ming asked softly while looking at the boy.

He had no reason to refuse him, and he did not want to either. If Hao Hao was not around, Su Ming would not have been able to obtain the Phala. If Hao Hao was not around, Su Ming… might have already died or become lost when he was attacked by the first and second princes.

Be it to repay his kindness or because Su Ming felt moved at that moment, he wanted to help Hao Hao. He wanted to… send him home.

“I am the Spirit of Dao Verification. I cannot tear open that seal. The will of the Emperor of Ancient Zang is gathered on me, but it’s not on you. You can tear open that seal. Once the seal is torn… we can go home.”

Hao Hao straightened on the tree crown while looking at Su Ming with resolve burning in his eyes. His gaze caused Su Ming to fall silent for a moment before resolution appeared in his eyes.

He moved straight to the tree crown, showing up beside Hao Hao. He lowered his head to look at the boy, and the boy too lifted his head to look at him.

The moment their gazes met, Su Ming saw the clarity in the boy’s eyes as well as the purity of his soul. He also saw… his longing to go home and the grief born from loneliness hidden in his heart.

Similarly, the boy also saw Su Ming’s world as well as Su Ming’s mourning.

“Help me go home… and I will also help you go home… Let’s do it together…”

The boy sensed the indescribable sense of cordiality with Su Ming once more. He brought his hand up and held Su Ming’s hand. At the moment their hands touched, Su Ming’s eyes suddenly focused.

A mighty power surged into his body. The boy was sending his power straight into him as an inheritance.