Pursuit of the Truth

The old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, he looked towards Su Ming, and a complicated expression appeared on his face, because he saw that there was the mark of a lightning bolt at the center of Su Ming’s brows at that moment. Clearly, it had appeared without Su Ming’s knowledge at some point of time.

“The mark of the lightning formed at the center of the Arid Beasts’ brows symbolizes the Arid Disaster. It is the same mark you have at the center of your brows right now. This means that you are the next person who will go through the Arid Disaster.”

Su Ming remained as calm as ever. He lifted his right hand and touched the center of his brows gently. The skin at that spot seemed to have been burned by some strange power, causing the mark of a lightning bolt to appear without him realizing that anything was off.

“It will descend at some point within a year, hmm?” Su Ming asked faintly after being silent for a moment.

If anyone looked at him then, they would only see that he seemed to have a spiritual air. They would not be able to tell that he had already escaped being a Successor Spirit and become one of the few remaining Antecedental Spirits in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos.

But once Su Ming released his presence, it would be strong enough to destroy the world. He had become powerful enough to turn into a galaxy’s will of heaven.

“It will descend within a year. The Arid Disaster descended on the seventh day of the tenth month after the sign had appeared,” the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe said in a low voice.

Su Ming smiled in a relaxed manner. His life was filled with hardships, and the dangers he ran into were countless. The Arid Disaster might be mysterious, but since it was bound to come, being alarmed would be of no help. Facing it with calm composure and wisdom was Su Ming’s choice.

“Thank you for protecting me just now, senior. I will not forget the deal we made. But for now, I’m afraid you will need to wait a little longer. When I became an Antecedental Spirit, I suddenly understood plenty of things I had never puzzled out completely. I will need to use this power to refine some of my divine abilities,” Su Ming said while staring at the old man.

“That is what you should be doing. Once you become an Antecedental Spirit, the world will fuse with you. It is the moment when you are the closest to Arid Triad’s will. Get a good sense of this feeling. During my time, there were quite a few shocking divine abilities and ultimate techniques that were created while we were in that condition.” The old man nodded.

Su Ming sat down and closed his eyes. At that moment after the Arid Beasts left and the vortex disappeared, the two thousand something golden figures and the All Spirits Hall above Su Ming slowly turned into illusions as well. After a moment, the Spirit Descension Hall, too, disappeared from the sky to wait for the next time someone summoned it.

Su Ming slowed down his thoughts and recalled the sensation he had when he became an Antecedental Spirit. Gradually, he made this feeling fill his heart. In about an hour, he immersed himself in it while also remaining alert of his surroundings.

Several hours later, when Su Ming’s mind had been immersed in the feeling of him becoming an Antecedental Spirit, his mind became clear.

It was a relative state of relaxation where his consciousness left his body to drift around him so that he could gain an understanding of the universe. In this state, two images appeared in Su Ming’s mind without his realization. One was Dark Mountain, and the other was him while in the land of Berserkers. In that image, he threw his head back and roarer as countless Berserkers beneath him worshiped him while crying out to him as their God.

This image remained in Su Ming’s mind for a long time before it gradually faded away. When his line of vision became clear again, Su Ming felt as if he had returned to the ninth summit. He sat outside his cave with a drawing board before him. He had his right hand lifted and was drawing something. Su Ming knew that this was his first style from the God of Berserkers Transformation—Berserker Obliteration.

“The direction of my epiphany… is the God of Berserkers Transformation,” Su Ming mumbled. At the instant his words echoed in his heart, the image in his mind disappeared. When his mind became empty again, Su Ming opened his eyes.

He was still sitting in the world connecting the Sun Sinking Talisman to the All Spirits Hall. He was still sitting on the towering Spirit Ascension Platform in Great Berserker Tribe, but all around him were distortions in the originally ruined Great Berserker Tribe. They made it seem as if the sky and the earth were in disorder, and also as if time was changing.

At that moment, brilliant light shone in the eyes of the old man from Heavenly Spirit Tribe. He moved back slightly and stared at the entire ruin of Great Berserker Tribe. It was filled with distortions as if a world from another period of time was overlapping somehow with the place at that moment.

It was similar to what he had felt previously. The time of the past… had come over because of Su Ming’s appearance and because he had become an Antecedental Spirit.

As the two times overlapped with each other, figures gradually appeared in the distortions, and they all belonged to members of Great Berserker Tribe. Some of them charged through the sky, and some of them were meditating in the area. There were also quite a few children playing in the tribe.

The place seemed to have returned to the past through the distortions, allowing Su Ming to see the people of Great Berserker Tribe who had lived there in ancient past and observe their lives.

Smoke curled in the air, and there were hunting teams going out in groups. Buildings made of stone that had various heights were located all over the tribe. Spirit Ascension Platforms could be found standing tall all around.

There were countless floating stones in the sky. Huge birds Su Ming had never seen before circled above him, occasionally letting out loud and clear screeches. They fed swiftly on the pieces of flesh the Berserkers threw on the ground for them.

The sound of bustling people, laughter born from playing, and the breathing of Berserkers exercising their breathing not too far away filled Su Ming’s mind at that instant. He stared at the area and saw that most of the Spirit Ascension Platforms in Great Berserker Tribe were occupied by people meditating on them.

“The creation of Great Berserker Tribe lies within your will!”

When an ancient voice rang from behind Su Ming, the Berserkers meditating on the Spirit Ascension Platforms around the area immediately opened their eyes. They looked at Su Ming, and their eyes filled with reverence and zealousness.

Su Ming turned his head around and saw a person sitting behind him. It was an ancient-looking old man with graying hair.

He was dressed in white robes and looked forward as if his gaze could see right through Su Ming.

Su Ming quietly took a few steps back and sat down beside the old man. He had already come to understand that he was watching a scene which had happened an unknown number of years ago.

He stared at the area and at the old man, then began listening in silence.

“Your will is the thoughts of your mind. Creation is the beginning of bringing something into existence. Turn your thoughts into your will, and turn your will into your creations. Then turn your creations into nothingness. This… is the strongest Art of Great Berserker Tribe. You have the will of Eternal Creation, and hence you have the right to practice cultivation on the Spirit Creation Platform, and you also have the right to understand Great Berserker Tribe’s Eternal Creation Art.

“This Art is divided into five states. Ten Creations, Hundred Creations, Endless Creations, Eternal Creations, and Created in Antiquity. Over the years we have passed this legacy in Great Berserker Tribe, no one could execute Created in Antiquity. Our limit is Eternal Creations.

“You must understand that the strength of this Art… is as brilliant as the sun. It is one of the reasons why the other races fear us,” the old Berserker said languidly. When his voice echoed in the air, the Berserkers on the Spirit Ascension Platforms immediately became spirited, and longing appeared on their faces.

Only had a glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes, however. He had caught a phrase from the old man’s words that was unusual.

‘Spirit Offering Platforms? Are those Spirit Ascension Platforms?’ Su Ming’s eyes sparkled, but the old man’s subsequent words cleared his confusion.

“This Art is passed down through our legacy. One part of it is contained in our blood, and the other is personally given to us as an inheritance by Great Berserker Tribe’s Ancestral Spirits when we worship the heavens!”

When the old man’s words echoed in all directions, a thought appeared in Su Ming’s heart.

‘The world I’m seeing now is a world before the disaster descended. It’s the era before the Ancestral Spirits died!’ Su Ming immediately lifted his head and looked at the sky.

Its blue shade was as clear as water. White clouds drifted around, causing all those who saw it to feel calm. This sort of sky was one Su Ming could rarely find in the outside world.

“Now, worship the sky and summon the Ancestral Spirits to descend among us!” The old man stood up and swung his arm. Then, he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed to the sky.

All the people on the platforms in the area stood up and worshiped the sky. A thought appeared in Su Ming’s mind, and he stood up as well to bow to the sky. There was a brilliant light in his eyes as he stared above.

Layers of ripples suddenly appeared in the blue sky. Immediately after, as they spread out, they formed a huge face. It sank from the sky, and when it descended, Great Berserker Tribe instantly fell into silence. All the people stared at the sky. Besides respect, there was also sincerity and gratitude on their faces. Not a hint of fear could be found anywhere.

When most of the face had descended, its eyes sparkled, and two pillars of light shot out from them. When they landed on the ground, they became piercingly bright. The bodies of two people slowly manifested from the pillars of light.

They were dressed in long robes, and judging by their looks, they appeared to be in their middle ages. There were no awe-inspiring expressions on their faces, but smiles like the gentle breeze of spring while they stared at the members of Great Berserker Tribe on the ground.

The two people were a man and a woman, and the man asked softly, “My fellow tribesmen, what is your request?”

There was no air of supremacy or arrogance in his words, but genuine emotion. He did not treat the people in Great Berserker Tribe as ants, but as his tribesmen, just as he said.

The woman by his side reacted in the same way. With a glow akin to motherly love in her eyes, she looked at all the people in Great Berserker Tribe. When she looked at the children, her expression brightened with deepest love.

“Ancestral Spirits who protect Great Berserker Tribe, please allow us to inherit the Created in Antiquity Art so that these people can obtain the epiphany and fight for the tribe!” The old man in white robes bowed deeply.

“Created in Antiquity is the strongest divine ability of our race. You have the blood of our race in your bodies, and you were created by us so that our race would grow through the generations. Because of it… this Art will never come to an end. Created in Antiquity…”

The male Ancestral Spirit spoke softly, then raised his right hand to swing it at the ground. Immediately, some glittering sparks spilled out. Each one was a runic symbol, and they landed at the center of the brows of each of the Berserkers on the platforms.

One of them drifted towards Su Ming as well.