Pursuit of the Truth

Standing beyond the palace floating in the air which towered into the sky in the Emperor of Abyss’ True World was the Emperor of Abyss, who was also the Kalpa Lord of that World. He had his hands placed behind his back as he stood there as if waiting for someone’s arrival.

He was very patient. It looked like even if he had to wait for ten thousand years, not a single hint of emotion would appear on his face. Time trickled by, and after an unknown amount of time had passed, the air in front of him suddenly distorted. In time, Su Xuan Yi walked out. Sang followed behind him quietly. The Emperor of Abyss of the Emperor of Abyss’ True World did not appear at all surprised when he saw Su Xuan Yi and Sang.

“Greetings, Sublime Paragon!” At the instant the Emperor of Abyss saw Su Xuan Yi, he immediately swung his arm… and knelt on one knee, then bowed like a disciple greeting his Master.

“Dao Er, there aren’t any outsiders here. You don’t need to do this. Raise.” A smile appeared on Su Xuan Yi’s face.

“Master!” The middle-aged man raised his head, and respect appeared on his face. When he cast his gaze on Sang, his lips curled up into a smile, and he nodded towards him.

“Junior brother, it has been many years since we last met. You look as fine as ever.”

…..

The door to Yu Xuan’s room within the Emperor of Abyss’ True World was pushed open silently, and Su Xuan Yi walked slowly into the room.

Yu Xuan had her back turned to the door, and she was sitting by the window as she stared at the starry sky outside. The moment Su Xuan Yi walked in, she shuddered, and a complicated expression appeared on her face.

Su Xuan Yi stared at Yu Xuan quietly. After a long while, he sighed softly and brought out an item from his bosom that he placed on the table. He then said softly, “You’ve suffered over these years… but he doesn’t suit you. From now on, he will only be a mortal.”

Su Xuan Yi stood silent for a moment before sighing and turning around to walk out of the room. He gently closed the door behind himself.

When Su Xuan Yi left, Yu Xuan turned her head around. Tears flowed down her face as she stared blankly at the statue of the ship formed by half of the Seed of Life Extermination placed on the table. More and more tears streamed down her cheeks.

…..

Endless whirlwind could be seen howling everywhere in the broken True Morning Dao World. The terrifying power of the World could tear through many planets and even rip apart space. It could also easily destroy all cultivators’ bodies.

Countless torn limbs could be seen in various places within the gigantic True Morning Dao World. They were from the cultivators which belonged to the Immortals’ Union and Morning Dao Sect, but no matter on which side they had fought, they were in truth… all people of True Morning Dao World.

Perhaps they had not managed to put the hatred they harbored against each other behind them before the disaster struck, but it could be disregarded when facing it. The hatred could even be forgotten… because surviving was their only goal.

As endless numbers of cultivators from the Immortals’ Union died, they longed to receive help from the Immortals’ Union, but they did not manage to live till that moment, because the only thing waiting for them was the madness of the disaster. It was a nightmare from which no one could save them.

It was especially so for the cultivators near the core of the Immortals’ Union. They had began laughing brokenly, because they saw the galaxy of the Immortals’ Union collapsing and the region being reduced to ruins.

However, they were also fortunate, because they knew that from then on, the Immortals’ Union would no longer exist, which was why they chose to escape. They chose to use every method in their disposal… to survive through the disaster!

Those cultivators who did not know that the galaxy of the Immortals’ Union had shattered still harbored the hope of returning. Yet what awaited them would be only the fear and bewilderment which would rise in their hearts once they saw the wreckage.

Compared to the Immortals’ Union, the cultivators from Morning Dao Sect were more fortunate. This did not mean that fewer of them died, but that those who survived would forever have hope, and its name was Morning Dao Sect.

Since all the Relocation Runes in Morning Dao Sect had been shut down, they might never be able to return and would never be able to see what had happened, but in their minds, Morning Dao Sect would always exist.

This was hope. It would forever remain in the hearts of the people who survived, and perhaps it would be passed down generation by generation…

Seven days after the disaster passed, not only did the whirlwind in True Morning Dao Sect not disappear, it had become even stronger. No one knew how long it would last, and perhaps not even those from Saint Defier’s camp knew precisely when it would disappear.

As long as there was power of the World surging in from the gap formed in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos, the endless whirlwind would exist. Yet whether it was one year, ten years, or even one hundred years or one thousand years, there would come a day when the power of the World would stop. The whirlwind in True Morning Dao World would also disappear at that moment.

Once it was gone, Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos would come face to face with a slaughter and disaster brought by Saint Defier or Dark Dawn, or even both. Compared to the whirlwind, this was the true disaster, because this would be a bloodbath which would affect the entire Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos instead of a single True World!

Before this disastrous bloodbath arrived, True Morning Dao World would remain filled with whirlwinds formed by the power of the World. It would be the calm before a storm for Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos.

There was nothing anyone could do about that. It was impossible for them to mend the gap formed by Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos. They could only continue making themselves stronger, making their sects stronger, and making their True Worlds stronger so that they could have a sliver of hope to survive in the final disaster.

While working hard, they would wait silently for the dazzling arrival of that disaster!

To Saint Defier and Dark Dawn, which lay beyond Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos, the period of peace and quiet was the critical moment for them to wage war against each other.

They had to fight to seize the gap, and since the gap was in Saint Defier’s camp, Dark Dawn had to pay several times the price to seize it.

Yet if Dark Dawn was going to attack with everything, Saint Defier had to fight back with everything they had as well.

No matter what, it might be the final period of peace in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos. It might last only for a short moment or maybe a long time, but no matter how much time it took, it would definitely come to an end one day.

That moment might no longer be far away.

When the seven days passed in the broken True Morning Dao World and the whirlwind became even stronger, at the spot right under the gap formed in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos where the whirlwind was born, a white light rushed out from the spot where the pillar of light which connected to the heavens had once been. The white light traveled so quickly that it instantly rushed out of the strongest whirlwind which was located at the core of the Immortals’ Union.

When it ventured out, the cocoon which was formed by Bai Feng only had a thin layer of it left. It should have been impossible for the cocoon to last till that moment. In truth, it should have shattered many days ago, and everything in it was supposed to be destroyed by the whirlwind.

The only reason it had been able to do so was because Bai Feng had executed an irreversible Forbidden Art from Phoenix Sect for the sake of surviving. It used her life as a source of power and would burn it to provide the cocoon with several times the support. This was how she had been able to last that long.

However, the price she paid was incredibly devastating to her as a woman. It could be seen within the thin cocoon that Bai Feng’s face was no longer as beautiful as it was in the past. Instead, it was full of wrinkles. She no longer looked youthful, but like she had just crawled out of a coffin. An old and decaying presence spread out from her body.

She was still dressed in white, but she was no longer beautiful. Instead, she was filled with sorrow and misery.

It stemmed from her very soul. To her, the seven days had felt like her entire life.

She did not have to do act like that. She could have welcomed death in a more dignified manner and choose to die beautiful if she could not survive.

However, she could not accept this. She was afraid of death, and she could not accept that she had lost everything. She had always dreamed of ascending to Saint Defier Expanse Cosmos, and for this dream, she could give up on everything.

Yet now, she was swathed in deep despair. She could only stay in the thin cocoon and wait for Su Ming’s arrival. There was no longer any life left for her to burn. Even if the cocoon could continue existing, she had less than a month left to live.

Just when the white light flew out from the core of the whirlwind in the distance and was about to leave, it came to a stop and changed its direction to charge towards Bai Feng. It approached the cocoon in an instant.

The white light pierced Bai Feng’s aged eyes. If it was two days ago, she would have been excited. If it was three days ago, Bai Feng would have been so excited that she would have cried. No matter what she would have been asked to give up, as long as the person in the white light would save her, she would promise it all away.

If it was four or five days ago, Bai Feng’s choice would still not change… but all of the seven days had passed.

She only had one month left to live, and she knew clearly that she could not reverse what had been done. With numbness, she stared at the white light beyond the cocoon. There was not a hint of emotion on her face, and there were no tears in her eyes. However, if anyone looked at her, they could hear faint cries echoing in space.

After a short moment of silence, a soft sigh that seemed to come from a day filled with snow and wind from the distant past traveled through space. White light shone beyond the cocoon and seeped into it to sweep up Bai Feng. The next moment, the light left into the distance.

The white light was a white ring that was about a hundred something feet big. Naturally, it was Lord Saint Defier’s supreme treasure, but right then, it no longer belonged to anyone from Saint Defier. It belonged to Mo Su, who had bid farewell to his past and had been reborn!

Only Su Ming himself knew just how hard it was to devour Xing Ji Dao and all that had happened within the white ring during the past seven days.

Yet all that mattered was that the moment the white ring flew out of the whirlwind, it meant that Su Ming had devoured Xing Ji Dao and his soul.

Su Ming’s appearance had changed drastically. He no longer looked as old as the black-robed old man, but much younger. He appeared to be a young man, and he had a handsome face, but there was a hint of ghastliness to it. When his eyes shone, there was life in him, but there was also a dead stillness within his gaze.

He was still dressed in black robes, but the soul in the body underneath them was stronger by nearly three-tenths to Su Ming’s previous soul.

His level of cultivation had also increased exponentially. The level of its increase was even more shocking than that of his soul. However, if anyone compared all of these to the white ring, they would not say that those were serendipities, because the real serendipity was the white ring!

This was Lord Saint Defier’s supreme treasure, an item which was incredibly rare even in Saint Defier’s camp. It was so valuable that it could not be described with words. Yet it had become something which belonged to Su Ming!

In the supreme treasure, there was a hint of presence which belonged to those in Avacaniya. If Su Ming could gain an epiphany from it, then the help it would provide him would be enough to shake the entire universe. In fact, as long as he kept this supreme treasure by his side, it would be the same as having… a chance to step into Avacaniya Realm in the future!

This sort of thing could make all cultivators go mad. This was the real serendipity Su Ming had obtained!

Right then, he sat and meditated within the white ring. Before him was the woman he had saved. Bai Feng, who had now become an old woman, sat quietly in front of him and stared at the world that flashed beyond the ring in a daze. She had not spoken for three days.

She was silent, and Su Ming didn’t have anything to say to her either. In truth, he had only saved her due to a hint of sentimentality. He was feeling sentimental about the past, about the relationship they had, about Dark Mountain, about the game of walking in circles they had shared, and about the sigh in the snow.