Pursuit of the Truth

Who could enter a person’s life was determined by destiny, but destiny could not determine who stayed in a person’s life. The only one who could decide that was the person himself.

Since Su Ming could not forget them, then it was fine for him to not forget them, even if everything was reduced to emptiness… and even if everything turned into the lingering rays of dusk that vanished without a trace as darkness descended, until not even a shadow could be found.

Su Ming walked past Tian Xie Zi, just like how he moved through his life, going from winter to either spring or the other seasons. When he reached the city gate, there was no longer any snow or wind behind him.

When he walked into the city, Tian Xie Zi’s faint sigh could be heard behind him. It had compassion, complicated emotions, and pride.

His compassion was due to Su Ming’s entire life. His complicated emotions were due to Su Ming’s choice, but he was also proud of Su Ming.

The sigh gradually faded into the distance, slowly drifting further and further away from Su Ming. When he walked through the city gate and stepped into the royal capital of Ancient Zang, the sigh behind him seemed to be separated from him by countless years. Then, it disappeared without a trace.

Su Ming did not turn his head back. He walked into the royal capital, then continued onwards without ever looking back.

He did not need to know where to go, because the moment he stepped through the city gate, he already saw it. There were three towers standing tall in the distance, and sitting on top of them were three people.

The person sitting at the top of the tower at the center was dressed in an Emperor’s robe, and there was a thick wave of kismet on him, as if the entire world, the changes in the seas and lands, and all of Ancient Zang was centered around him. It was as if… where that person was, Ancient Zang would be there, and if he was not around, then Ancient Zang would not be known as Ancient Zang!

He was the ruler of Ancient Zang… the Sovereign of Ancient Zang who had all of Ancient Zang’s kismet gathered on him!

Next to him was the third tower. Sitting on top of it was a middle-aged man. He looked incredibly beautiful, and he had a strange, enchanting air about him. That air was incredibly strong, and it became a presence that surrounded him, making him feel like an existence that did not fit into the world.

It was as if not even kismet could merge with him. He was not one with the world, did not fuse with the heavens, and neither was he part of all lives in the land. Be it the sky, the earth, the heavens, or all manner of living, there was no state of being that could surpass his existence. It was… as if he were the only creator in the world!

He could create the world, which was why there was no way for him to fuse with it. He could create the universe, but there was no way for him to personally descend upon the land he created to become one with it. He could create and change all manner of being, but there was no way for him to become part with it. If he had to fuse with them, then the world, the universe, and all manner of being should be the ones who tried to become one with him!

He was Tian Xiu Luo!

And the path he created was so incredibly domineering that it stood unparalleled!

Of the three towers, the one in the center was taken by the sovereign, the one on the right belonged to Tian Xiu Luo, and last one… had a man watching Su Ming.

There was an ancient air about that person, and the feeling of time passing could be detected upon him. It was as if he had been sitting there for a long time… and waiting for Su Ming.

That person did not have Ancient Zang’s kismet gathered on him, like the sovereign, and neither did he have the domineering air about him like Tian Xiu Luo, which screamed that he was the creator of the world. However, he had a presence that seemed to be able to determine what was the truth and what was fake. It felt as if he could see through all illusions and even time itself.

That presence seemed to be the epitome of wisdom. It was the end of what all lives could understand. It was also… a Dao that seemed to be able to understand kismet, domineeringness, and everything about all manner of lives.

On that road, the person would never see illusions. They could see the truth they wanted to see!

That man was… Gu Hong!

He was one of the three ninth level Dao Gods in Ancient Zang, or rather, at that moment, those three people were no longer ninth level Dao Gods. Perhaps they had already severed their Daos and completely formed… their Boundless Dao!

Tian Xiu Luo had already severed his Dao and reached Boundless Dao Realm. Gu Di had also clearly severed his kismet during the two thousand years to reach Boundless Dao Realm!

And Gu Hong… The fact that he was sitting on the tower told Su Ming that he… had severed his choice too!

That word, ‘sever’, should not be taken literally. Instead, it was a form of resolution, a choice. Once Gu Hong made his choice… he could not turn back. If he was right, then he was right, and if he was wrong, then he was wrong. There were two paths. Perhaps one was right, and the other was wrong.

Once he chose one of them, it would accompany him for life.

Su Ming’s footsteps paused for a brief moment. He stood on a street in Ancient Zang’s royal capital. There were people who rushed past him, but Su Ming did not look at them, because he knew that even if he looked at them, he would not be able to remember their faces. If that was the case, then he might as well not look at them.

The only person he watched was Gu Hong, who was on the first tower.

The old man was also staring at Su Ming. His lips slowly curled into a faint smile.

“You brat, I’ve been waiting for you for two thousand years!”

There was laughter in the old man’s voice, and when his words swiftly traveled out from the tower, they echoed through the entire royal capital.

Su Ming could feel the warmth contained in those simple words, and his heart warmed up. That loving care was real, so real… that Su Ming would remember it for life.

“I, Su Ming, greet my Master.” Su Ming looked at the man sitting on the tower in the distance, then slowly wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply.

Gu Hong’s laughter was filled with an ancient air, but the sound of happiness was even more prominent. When his laughter rose into the air again, the old man on the tower had already disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already in front of Su Ming.

His appearance was the same as before, but the strange air about him had weakened, replaced by age. When he looked at Su Ming, there was joy in his eyes. Once he cast a few close glances at him, his laughter became even more exuberant than before.

“Very good! You didn’t make me wait in vain for two thousand years. I promised you in the past that I would let you personally witness the fight between me and those two stubborn idiots who just refuse to die.

“That was my promise, and since I made it, I definitely had to fulfil it. Forget just two thousand years, even if I had to wait for twenty thousand years, two hundred thousand years, or twenty thousand aeons, I would continue waiting!”

There was originally a lot of wrinkles on the old man’s face, but when he laughed, they seemed to vanish.

“Let’s go!”

As the old man laughed happily, he took Su Ming’s right hand, and with one move, they appeared on his tower.

There was originally only one seat at the top of the tower, because Su Ming could clearly see… that there was only one seat available for one person to meditate on the second and third towers.

However, there were two seats on the first tower. The other spot was formed by the old man during the two thousand years. This action was very simple for him, and it looked very ordinary, but that normal seal caused Su Ming’s heart to tremble the moment he saw it.

Contained in the seat was the old man’s affection for Su Ming as well as all the tender love he had for Su Ming as his disciple. The old man did not hope for Su Ming to do anything in return, but just to witness his Dao.

It was like the thread of fate that bound them together, like how their Daos… were a similar path.

“Hey, you two old coots, we can fight now! My disciple has come back, haha!”

The old man stood on the tower and laughed loudly. There was a tone Su Ming found familiar in his voice. It was that unreliable air he knew all too well.

The moment the old man spoke, Tian Xiu Luo’s eyes flew open to reveal a merciless glare. His appearance also changed. His presence was no longer the same as it was in the past. The merciless glare in his eyes caused him to no longer seem like a cultivator.

“You would rather use a seal to avoid fighting for two thousand years, all for the sake of a cultivator. Gu Hong… your Dao is still as abhorring as it was in the past!”

The old man rolled his eyes and let out a cold harrumph before he immediately started cursing. “Shut up! My disciple is mine, not yours. Of course I have to give a damn about him, if I don’t, then who will? Was I supposed to rely on that idiot who plays around with Arts of Kismet?”

As he spoke, the figure sitting on the tower at the center, the Sovereign of Ancient Zang, slowly opened his eyes. When he looked at Su Ming, there were not many changes on his face. Only a sigh came from him, and it resounded through the air.

“Xuan Er…”

Su Ming looked at the Sovereign of Ancient Zang, then was quiet for a while before he said slowly, “My name is Su Ming.”

The Sovereign of Ancient Zang fell silent. After some time, his deep voice traveled languidly through the world as if it was echoing in the air.

“Do you still remember… the story of the wanderer who left home?”

Su Ming’s gaze focused. He cast a few scrutinizing glances at the emperor, then he remembered the old man he saw in a noodle stall three thousand years ago.

“Why do you insist on being lost? I am not surprised that Gu Hong chose you as his disciple, because your Dao has always been similar to his. But now, Gu Hong has already severed his choice, but you… still don’t want to wake up?

“Wake up, my dear Xuan Er, when you wake up… you will be the Sovereign of Ancient Zang. When you wake up… all the kismet in Ancient Zang will gather on you, and you will be the only heir to my kismet and Gu Hong’s Dao, and you will be… the only true person who reaches Boundless Dao Realm!”

The Sovereign of Ancient Zang stood up slowly on his tower. When he looked at Su Ming, his voice was like the voice of the world. It echoed in the air, and all the lives in the royal capital felt their hearts shudder. The people immediately fell to their knees in worship.

They were not the only ones. All the cultivators in all the sects and clans within Ancient Zang also prostrated themselves on the ground in the direction of the royal capital… to worship Ancient Zang’s kismet!

The world became muddled. Fog rose from the ground, as if it had turned into the Vast Universe Su Ming saw outside Harmonious Morus Alba. Everything seemed to be centered around the Sovereign of Ancient Zang!

Su Ming watched the changes in the world while standing beside the old man, then he said these words languidly, “That is his Boundless Dao Realm, not mine.”

All lives have an end, and if a person learn of what it means to reach boundlessness, then how many cycles of life and death they lead would end with them being in Boundless Dao Realm?

Lands would eventually come to an end, but there was no end to the sky. How many lives would lead to thoughts never having an end?