Pursuit of the Truth

Tears fell from Su Ming’s eyes as the ninth overlapping Dao God appeared within his third eye. Once they merged together, they made him… reach the ninth level of Dao Divinity Realm.

The ninth overlapping Dao God had Su Ming’s appearance, and he was also weeping.

The voice echoing in Su Ming’s head was still around, but the owner of that voice could no longer be seen with the naked eye. However, in Su Ming’s heart, his Master would always be around, and he would eternally exist among his Dao Divinities.

Gu Hong was Su Ming’s ninth Dao Divinity!

Gu Hong’s choice shocked Tian Xiu Luo, and the Sovereign of Ancient Zang’s heart trembled. Disbelief appeared on their faces. They had not expected that once Gu Hong stepped into the thirty-first Sky, he would make such a choice while laughing madly.

‘Perhaps… with this method, he could gather his legacy on his disciple so that he could continue down his Dao as well. Gu Hong… I have never respected anyone in my life… You are now the only person I will ever respect,’ Tian Xiu Luo muttered in his heart.

He stared at Su Ming as if he could still see Gu Hong in him, his friend with whom he had thought his entire life. As he watched him, understanding gradually appeared in Tian Xiu Luo’s eyes.

“Go. your Master has chosen to reverse his Dao and become your ninth Dao Divinity so that you could have the right to step into Ancient Dao Skies.

“Su Ming, don’t disappoint your Master. No matter what your Dao is, you must persevere down your path!” Tian Xiu Luo said calmly, but his voice echoed in the area.

At that moment, he did not have any other thoughts in his mind, but only a hint of sadness, which caused him to sigh with a myriad of emotions towards the sky, Gu Hong’s sigh, and his blessings for Su Ming.

Su Ming was silent. His nine Dao Divinities at the center of his brow were swiftly merging into one, and his cultivation base was erupting madly. He was growing stronger, and his cultivation base changed continuously. His level of cultivation climbed up rapidly.

It was a key stage for an eighth level Great Dao Paragon to become a ninth level Dao God. That step… was incredibly difficult for all Great Dao Paragons, and it was a great serendipity that they could only dream of having but not actively seek. Yet at that moment, while Su Ming had obtained that serendipity, he felt no joy in his heart.

“This is what Dao means.” A sigh tumbled out of the Sovereign of Ancient Zang’s lips, and his voice echoed in the world.

“It simply means that Dao would last for an eternity… The person who understood it would not care about their physical body, their own survival, nor even whether they could continue with their life. They would only care about Dao and whether it could last for eternity…

“That was Gu Hong, and it is also the reason why he could surpass us and step into the thirty-first Sky… Dao is boundless, and there is no end to thoughts… so that’s what it means.”

When the Sovereign of Ancient Zang’s sigh echoed in the air, he looked at Su Ming. There was no longer a complicated look in his eyes, but an encouraging gaze.

“Whether you are Xuan Er or not, no matter who you are… continue down your path, so that your Dao and Gu Hong’s Dao will continue. Don’t let yourself feel any regret. Don’t disappoint Gu Hong.”

Su Ming was silent for a time. Then, he slowly lifted his head and looked at the black and white vortex in the sky. He stared at the path to leave and an end to the battle of Possession.

Once the nine Dao Divinities in Su Ming’s third eye completely fused with Dao Hong, they shone with light.

That light was not white, but neither was it black… It was purple! Su Ming’s robes were purple, his hair was purple, and his eyes were purple. At that moment, his whole world was purple. That purple hue existed in daylight, and was not the darkness of night. However, when the purple hue shone during the night… it was a darkness that not even night could dye black.

Su Ming sucked in a deep breath and took a step forward. The moment his foot landed, his body let out a bang, and he turned into a long arc that charged into the sky.

He was so fast that he instantly appeared under the black and white vortex. In fact, half of his body had already appeared in the vortex, and with just another half a step, he could completely step into Ancient Zang Skies’ vortex.

It was not that he could not take that half a step, but he had stopped for a moment based on his will. He turned his head around and cast a glance at Ancient Zang’s world.

It was perhaps his last time looking at Ancient Zang, because right then… Su Ming would definitely succeed! It was what he told himself!

Su Ming saw a vast piece of land. He saw Seven Moons Land, the rising and falling mountain ranges, all the places that granted him experience during the three thousand years he lived in the land. In fact, he could even vaguely see Hao Hao.

With that one glance, he also saw all the people he met in Ancient Zang. After a long while, a look saying that he was about to bid farewell to that world appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He turned around, and with his Dao as well as Gu Hong’s Dao, he took the half a step into Ancient Zang Skies.

When his foot landed, Su Ming entered the vortex completely. He stepped into Ancient Zang, and what waited for him was the road of the thirty-three Skies. Once Su Ming reached its end, he would walk out of the thirty-three Skies and the world formed for the battle of Possession, and then… he would open his eyes!

The world rumbled. Clouds and fog surrounded Su Ming. It was foggy all around him, and that fogginess gave him the feeling of seeing the endless universe beyond when he left Harmonious Morus Alba all those years ago.

Su Ming did not pay any attention to his surroundings and did not think too much. He only kept his mind on questioning his own Dao as he used all of his power to turn into a long arc and charge up with an indomitable will.

Boom!

A loud bang echoed in the air. Su Ming felt that he seemed to have rushed past a barrier, and at the instant he did, he went through the first Sky!

Su Ming knew that it was Ancient Zang’s first Sky!

Before him were thirty-two more Skies. The path of questioning his Dao and the journey to verify it was right under his feet. He could not turn his head back, and he would not turn his head around!

Resolution appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. Not only did his speed not slow down, he even became faster, and throughout his charge, booming sounds accompanied him…

The second Sky, third Sky, fourth Sky… Every single time Su Ming cleared another layer, booming sounds shook the sky and reverberated through the air. When he stepped into the ninth Sky, Su Ming looked down, but he only saw fog below. However, he could still sense the gazes of the Sovereign of Ancient Zang and Tian Xiu Luo.

They held great hope and were clear and expectant, not bearing any personal grudges. It was a form of respect towards Dao, or rather, they respected Gu Hong’s choice to help Su Ming complete his Dao!

They wanted to know whether Gu Hong’s choice would succeed!

There was no longer any tears in Su Ming’s eyes, but Gu Hong’s figure had now become an eternal existence in his heart. His tears of grief could not provide him more power to charge forward. He could only use the truth to prove that his Dao was right. He had to rush out of the thirty-three Skies, for only then would he make Gu Hong smile.

Su Ming’s gaze became even more resolute. His speed increased swiftly, and as he charged forth in a long arc, he touched the tenth Sky.

Booming sounds shook the sky again. Su Ming’s speed did not change, and he continued to charge to the eleventh Sky!

Just like that, Su Ming had all his cultivation base erupt from him, and with his power of a ninth level Dao God, he broke through the thirteenth Sky, crashed past the sixteenth Sky, tore through the nineteenth Sky, and stomped his way into the twenty-second Sky!

A burst of madness spread out of Su Ming’s body, and he had no intention of holding any of it back. His eyes were bloodshot, and his mind had already descended into a state of madness which prevented him from being affected by any secondary thoughts. It became an obsessive craze… and it formed his determination to rush out of the thirty-third Sky.

“I will… step into the thirty-third Sky!”

Su Ming threw his head back and shouted. His speed increased exponentially, because he was no longer using only his cultivation base, but his four great wills as well.

As they exploded in power, Su Ming felt as if his resolve was burning and bringing his body—entirely purple and surrounded by a crazed presence—to crash into the twenty-fourth Sky. Even if he ended up in a badly battered state because of it, he would crush the twenty-sixth Sky.

With booming sounds echoing in the air… Su Ming stepped into the twenty-eighth Sky!

Once he was there, Su Ming lifted his head and stared at the twenty-ninth Sky. He could vaguely see… the thirtieth Sky right behind it!

The thirtieth Sky was inaccessible to all those who were not in Boundless Dao Realm!

“After becoming a ninth level Dao God, what comes next is Boundless Dao Realm… Boundless Dao Realm is just like how thoughts have no end. It needs to be severed… Once I sever my Dao, I can make my Dao… become boundless, and my thoughts… will have no end to them.”

When Su Ming said those words softly, the flames of determination burned in his bloodshot eyes. He sucked in a deep breath while he was in the twenty-eighth Sky. He did not let out that breath, but instead kept it in his body.

He turned into a long arc that charged to the twenty-ninth Sky. His speed became faster along the way, and at the end, he practically became a shooting star that rose from the ground and traveled in reverse, back to the sky.

The next instant… Su Ming crashed against the barrier in the sky leading to the twenty-ninth Sky.

Boom!

The sound echoed through the heavens and spread through all of Ancient Zang when the barrier before Su Ming shattered. He immediately stepped into the twenty-ninth Sky. At that moment, before him was the thirtieth Sky that the Sovereign of Ancient Zang could not step into and Tian Xiu Luo found difficult enter!

“Thirtieth Sky…”

The flames of determination in Su Ming’s eyes spread to his entire body. They spread into his mind and heart. His cultivation base erupted at full force, and his third eye shone with an eye-catching light. Within it, the eyes of the nine overlapping Dao Divinities shone brilliantly!

The four great wills also erupted at full force from Su Ming’s body at that moment. Once they fused with his determination, they turned into his madness. He did not let out any sound, but like a volcano that was about to erupt, he delivered the madness of letting out all of his power to the thirtieth Sky.

He instantly flew up, and from a distance, he looked like a moth while the thirtieth Sky was like a fire. He instantly drew close to it…

‘My Dao is my determination. It’s all the faces I can never forget no matter how many cycles of life and death I have to go through. It is… my promise to them in Harmonious Morus Alba.

‘I… will resurrect them. I will take back all that I have lost!

‘This is my Dao, and what I need to sever is not this Dao… but that there will be no truths or lies, no dreams, no illusions, no Possessions, no talents… no destiny!

‘What I will sever is my life of walking from midwinter to spring. I will sever… the one figure that will be missing for all eternity!’

Su Ming’s body looked as if he had been lit on fire when… he crashed against the barrier leading to the thirtieth Sky.

Booming sounds lifted the sky and earth and shook every corner of the world!