Pursuit of the Truth

When Su Ming came to an understanding, he lifted the axe with his right hand. Just like how he had been chopping wood while staying in the old man’s courtyard, he fixed his gaze on the skinny cultivator and swung the axe down in his direction.

Su Ming did so with a calm heart. Not a single flicker of emotion could be detected on his face, which made it seem like all his consciousness had fused into the axe. When it fell, the world instantly let out a loud bang as if the sky had crumbled.

The slightly plump cultivator who had rushed in to grab the Reversed Spirit Pearl could not stop his eyes from shrinking. At the instant a hint of shock appeared in his gaze, he pulled back without any hesitation.

The skinny cultivator, whom Su Ming had targeted, did not have the time, and all his hair stood up on end. An overwhelming feeling that he was about to die rose in him. It came so suddenly that he found it improbable and even impossible. Such a sense of danger should have never come from the third prince, who was only in Dao Spirit Realm!

However, he did not have time to think about it as he wasn’t even capable of dodging the attack. A shrill scream of pain tumbled out from his mouth, and his right arm was instantly separated from his body.

Blood gushed out, which shocked the rather plump cultivator, and the expression of the skinny cultivator changed as well. He swiftly fell back. When he looked at Su Ming, his face was full of terror, but soon, his gaze landed on the axe in Su Ming’s hand!

The rather plump cultivator also immediately reacted to the situation and stared at the axe in Su Ming’s hand.

“Y-y-you! Is there anyone in the world who cuts wood like this?! Aaahh!! You seriously make me so mad!”

At that moment, the door to the house was pushed open, and the old man in the jacket stormed out. He did not even look at the two powerful cultivators in the sky and walked straight to Su Ming before grabbing the axe from his hand.

“What a waste of a good dog leg… What a waste, seriously. Watch me, I’ll teach you one more time. You have to cut wood like this!” The old man glared at Su Ming, then lifted the axe with his right hand. At the instant the plump and skinny cultivators’ eyes shrank, he brought the axe down.

The sky seemed to stop to exist at that moment. It became murky, as if it contained countless shrill roars. The ground was no longer around as well, but had turned into the abyss. At the moment the sky and ground descended into chaos, the skinny cultivator’s expression filled with more terror than he had ever felt in his life. The shock he experienced was able to submerge his whole being.

He shuddered, and absolute terror appeared in his eyes. Su Ming could also see that when the old man lifted his axe, an indescribable presence seemed to have been added to the world. Su Ming was familiar with it since it was the power of wills he thought no one in Ancient Zang possessed!

The power of that will was so great that it surpassed Su Ming’s by leaps and bounds. At the moment it appeared and enveloped the skinny cultivator… an object no one could see except for those who possessed the power of wills manifested around the skinny cultivator!

It was… a round Life Matrix formed by wisps of white smoke, and it was as complicated as a Rune!

The Life Matrix was filled with runic symbols, and each one signified one of the skinny cultivator’s memories. At the moment the Life Matrix appeared, the old man’s axe… swung down!

What he cut was not the skinny cultivator’s body… but his Life Matrix.

There were no loud bangs nor astonishingly brilliant sparks. It was a simple swing, but it managed to cut through the skinny cultivator’s Life Matrix and crushed all the runic symbols in it, which forced the Life Matrix… to reassemble itself instant. It distorted, and when the old man completed his swing, it vanished from above the skinny cultivator’s head.

The next moment, the skinny cultivator shuddered, and his body contorted as well. With an expression of disbelief and indescribable terror, he tried to scream in pain, but his voice seemed to be stuck in his throat, and then, he plunged to the ground. His body twisted on the ground, his clothes fell off… and he turned into a white dog!

It barked, releasing a sound which seemed to have been suppressed for a long time. Once the sound was made, Su Ming saw great terror in the white dog’s eyes, and it was even quivering.

The white dog had only three legs!

At that moment, the terror the rather plump cultivator in the sky felt was much stronger than what the white dog experienced. As he trembled, he swiftly fell back, intending to flee regardless of all costs. He had not expected that… such a powerful warrior which could leave him stunned would exist in a small mortal village!

In his eyes, the old man was so strong that he was surely a Great Dao Paragon. However, he could not wrap his head around something. The Great Dao Paragons in his sect did not seem to have divine abilities which could turn people into animals!

With his level of cultivation, he could tell at first glance that it was no ordinary illusion. In fact, it was not an illusion at all, but a transformation stemming from a person’s origin. The skinny cultivator had turned into an animal from the core of his being!

It was the source of the plump man’s fear. At that moment, he no longer harbored any greed towards Su Ming’s Enchanted Treasures, and neither did he have any sort of intention to kill him. The only thought he had right then was to run away at any cost! As he charged forth, he tore through the air and took half a step out of the village—

“See it now? That’s what cutting wood is. Heh heh, see how great I am now?”

The old man actually stuck his chin out. When he lifted the axe with his right hand, he swiftly cut down on the rather plump cultivator who was about to disappear into the distance.

“We can’t have this fat dog run away now. It has to stay and guard the house. When we’re hungry, we can use it as a snack, right?”

While the old man spoke, the cultivator who had already rushed away experienced a full body jolt, and he instantly fell back into the courtyard. As his body twisted, he moaned… and he turned into a large white dog.

He shuddered, and when he looked at the old man, fear appeared in his eyes. It was stronger than anything he had felt before.

“Do you see it? You don’t see it, right? No, you saw it, right?” the old man chattered on and pointed at the two white dogs. When he looked at Su Ming at the end, his expression grew serious.

“This is what it means to cut wood. Heh heh, you have to know that there are plenty of people who would lick my toes in Ancient Zang just to learn how to cut for a day at my place. If it weren’t for that little boy Gu taking me to all sorts of brothels in the past and me enjoying a very comfortable life while I was there, I wouldn’t have helped him.

“Remember this. When you cut wood, just swing down. If you stare at wood, then what you cut will be wood, but if you don’t look at it, then perhaps what you cut will not be wood.

“Aaahhh! It’s too complicated. I’ve never taken any disciples in my life, and I’ve never taught anyone before. Figure it out yourself slowly. Remember this, there are three states when cutting wood. The first of the three states is to cut people, the second is to cut logs, and the third is to cut all the logs and people who piss you off.”

The old man scratched his head. After chattering for a good half of the day, even he felt that his words were unclear, which was why he decided to just throw the axe on the ground and turn around to walk into the house.

Just as he was about to step into the house, he suddenly stopped and turned his head slightly so that his side profile was directed at Su Ming. He seemed to be different again. It looked as if he had lost some of his cynicism and had more of the marks of time.

“Su Ming,” he said slowly, and there was something old in his voice.

Su Ming had already gained some understanding from the old man’s words just then. He then lifted his head and looked at the old man.

“Give these two dogs names. If either of them acts funny, kill it and we’ll have dog soup tomorrow.” Once he finished speaking, the old man walked into his house with a dark look on his face.

The pitter-pattering sounds of rain were back in the courtyard. The two white dogs shuddered in the rain.

Su Ming ignored the two dogs. Instead, he picked up the axe and returned to the shed. He stared at the axe, and a contemplative look appeared in his eyes. His expression was calm, but in truth, a huge storm raged in his heart.

He had never doubted the old man’s power before, but he had never expected his act of cutting wood to have reached such an astonishing level. This already surpassed all divine abilities.

‘Cutting Life Matrices…’

Su Ming’s eyes shone. He could not forget all that he had seen. In fact, in his eyes, it was no longer something a cultivator could do. It had already become a serendipity for him!

“Serendipity…” Su Ming mumbled. His gaze fell on the two white dogs in the courtyard. In silence, he lifted his right hand, and immediately, the two white dogs’ clothes and storage bags flew to him.

“You’re White One!” Su Ming pointed at the rather plump white dog.

“You’re White Three!” His gaze landed on the three-legged white dog.

The two dogs were silent, and grief appeared on their faces. Besides trembling in the rain, they seemed to be unable to do anything else. After they were turned into animals, all their cultivation bases had been sealed. Even if they were still alive, they would have been better off dead.

The humiliation and the terror filled the two white dogs with indignation while their faces were full of sadness.

They were not dogs. They were cultivators. They were sect elders of One Dao Sect, Dao Paragons. They could command the wind and rain in Ancient Zang. They could even stand at the top of the world, but right then…

They were unable to accept the sudden change in their station.

“Even if you want to die, you can’t die. I believe that I have a way to make you become guard dogs even in your next life. If you are loyal, however, I might, after a period of time, ask the old man to be merciful and let you have a chance to be cultivators again,” Su Ming said flatly. “I will let you think for the night.”

Once he finished speaking, he lowered his head and looked at the axe in his hand before sinking into contemplative silence.