Pursuit of the Truth

137th Expanse Cosmos was among the 180 Expanse Cosmoses of Dark Dawn. It was located far away from Saint Defier’s border, and it was also far away from Arid Triad’s gap. It was on the other side of Dark Dawn.

The Expanse Cosmos belonged to a race named Bear Charters. They occupied this one Expanse Cosmos, and they had grown and prospered in this place since they had inherited their legacy from the second era. There were hundreds of thousands of people in this race, so it was not really big, but not small either.

The 136th Expanse Cosmos was known as Bear Chart Expanse Cosmos, and Bear Chart Tribe was its master.

There were three altars that eternally existed in the boundless galaxy within Bear Chart Expanse Cosmos. They floated about but did not move themselves, and it had been so for countless years. Bear Chart Tribe had set down seals and Runes around the three altars. They slowly rotated around the altars, turning the place into forbidden ground.

They protected them as if this was the mission of Bear Chart Tribe, and they had kept it up to that date.

The three altars looked incredibly old. One of them was even largely damaged. It exuded an air of ancientness, as if it was falling apart. There was a huge crack in its center, and it looked like it went through the entire altar. If anyone stood on the altar and lowered their heads, they would be able to see the galaxy under it.

The crack might have gone through the entire altar, but it seemed like there was some sort of strange power contained in it, which prevented the altar from falling apart. Instead, the two parts of the altar seemed to be attracted to each other. They were stuck to each other, refusing to move.

Compared to that altar, the third one was kept in a very good condition. On that day, it suddenly shone with a dark light. It instantly grew to a piercing degree and surrounded the entire altar. When it did so, the stone platform that appeared to be sturdy looked as if it had started melting. Once it sank in, some boils even appeared on it, as if it had turned into a swamp.

“Who is it?! Who is talking about the great Grandpa Crane?”

The bald crane shuddered, then popped its head out of the altar. It flapped its wings at full strength, then flew out from the altar that now resembled a swamp. When it flew out, it immediately looked around it with suspicion. The feeling that some strange thoughts had appeared in the depths of its mind once it entered Dark Dawn and Saint Defier’s universe had caused it to attempt to search for them, but no matter what, it could not find the source.

Immediately after, the Sovereign of Dawn Yan Pei’s figure appeared on the swamp-like altar. He turned into a long arc and flew out swiftly, then he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply to the altar.

The instant he bowed, Su Ming’s figure slowly appeared from the altar. He walked forth, and the swamp-like stone altar under his foot became something like mud, but when Su Ming put his foot down, the mud split up on its own. It was as if it did not dare to stop Su Ming. When he walked into the galaxy, the altar behind him became solid again, and the dark light dissipated as well.

Su Ming cast a cold glance at the area around him, then directed his gaze on Yan Pei.

“Master, Arid Triad’s gap is in Saint Defier’s camp. If we went there and wished to return to Dark Dawn, we would inevitably run into some disturbances. This is the ancient Relocation Rune connected to Dark Dawn I mentioned earlier,” Yan Pei immediately said in an incredibly respectful voice.

Su Ming swept his gaze over the three altars. Once he cast them a few scrutinizing glances, he noticed a presence that did not belong to this aeon on them. It was clearly a mark that had existed since a long time ago.

However, since one of the altars was preserved in a rather good condition and Yan Pei had secretly transformed it, it became one of the methods for him to save his life. Based on what he said on the way, no matter where he was, as long as he had some time to make preparations, he could immediately Relocate to this place.

This was because he was a member of Bear Chart Tribe. He was a Sovereign of Dawn who came from this tribe, and while he had an Expanse Cosmos belonging to him since he was a Sovereign of Dawn, in the end, he belonged to the Bear Charters.

And only the Bear Charters had had the chance to examine the three altars as well as use them. What concerned Yan Pei though, he was among the best in using them.

Yan Pei was silent for a moment, but even when he spoke, he did not manage to give a detailed description, because even he was not too certain about the matter.

“Master, are you interested in these three altars? Based on Bear Charter Tribe’s years of analysis and observations, we’ve discovered that in the beginning, the first altar seemed to Relocate people to an incredibly far away place, but we don’t know the exact location of that spot.

“Compared to it, the second altar definitely Relocates over a shorter distance, because its aura has disappeared over the years, but based on some of it the tribe had kept, we can sense… a presence that is great and difficult to put to words. It seems like the place with the aura is a place where cultivators are as insignificant as ants.”

Yan Pei only knew that the first and second altars were damaged. Only the third altar could allow them to return to this place from other locations. If they could use it skillfully, it could serve a critical function during dangerous moments!

“If you’ve stored this aura, you can try to gain a sense of it.”

Su Ming averted his gaze from the altar. When he said those words, the invisible Runes and seals around the three altars suddenly shone with a gentle light. When it formed a ripple, dozens of long arcs charged forth with loud whistles. They instantly approached them, then turned into cultivators.

The person in the lead was an incredibly tall and large man. When he moved forward, the shadow of a huge bear seemed to manifest behind him. When he drew closer, he immediately wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply to Yan Pei.

“I, tribe leader of Bear Chart Tribe, greet the Sovereign of Dawn.”

The man’s voice was as loud as waves. When it came out in loud booms, the dozens of people behind him wrapped their fists in their palms towards Yan Pei as well. Their greetings were uniform, created a wave of sound that spread through the area.

“How many Star Altar Stones in the tribe still have their whole aura preserved in them?”

The moment the ripples from the Runes and seals spread out, the obsequious look on Yan Pei’s face disappeared like the wind, replaced by a dignified and aloof one. It turned him back into the supreme Sovereign of Dawn.

By his side, the bald crane had a scornful look on its face. It turned its head away in contempt, but it was noting down everything Yan Pei did in its heart. Being diligent and thirsting for new knowledge was a very good habit of the bald crane.

“Reporting to the Sovereign of Dawn, there are still… five Star Altar Stones that have been kept in perfect condition. The seals have not been broken, which is why their aura has not spread out. If you require it, I will have someone bring them over,” the man from Bear Chart Tribe immediately said respectfully, then cast a brief glance at Su Ming from the corner of his eyes while he began forming assumptions about Su Ming’s status in his mind.

“Bring three over. These stones with the ancient aura are limited in number. You will need to keep some in the tribe,” Yan Pei said slowly after thinking the matter over.

The man immediately wrapped his fist in his palm and voiced his obedience. He turned around and looked at the old man by his side. With a nod, the old man turned into a bear of one thousand feet in height. He threw his head back and roared before he turned into an afterimage of a long arc and disappeared into the distance.

Su Ming did not bother with the talk between Yan Pei and the people from Bear Chart Tribe. His expression was indifferent. With one step, he moved forward. The bald crane quickly followed behind him, and even cast a smug look at the Sovereign of Dawn Yan Pei.

The people from Bear Chart Tribe had never seen Su Ming before, and they could not see any ripples of power from him either, but they knew that since this person came with their Sovereign of Dawn, he was definitely outstanding and not to be offended.

When the cultivators from Bear Chart Tribe looked over, their pupils shrank. Shock appeared on their faces. They could clearly see that once Su Ming came in contact with the ripples from the invisible seals and Runes, the Runes shuddered and disappeared before him as if they were moving back on their own.

Not only did this scene cause the people from Bear Chart Tribe to be shocked, even the Tribe Elder of Bear Chart Tribe turned his head around abruptly because he had sensed it. His pupils shrank, and disbelief appeared on his face.

The Bear Charters had lived around the Runes and had inherited their legacy for a very long time. Over the countless years, each generation of their tribe would perfect the Runes. Their power was perhaps not the offensive type, but their defensive properties made the Runes impossible to break within a short period of time even for the powerful warriors in Avacaniya Realm. But the Runes had not shown even a single fluctuation of power right then. It was as if…

It was as if the Runes had backed away on their own, as if they were a vassal greeting their sovereign. They did not dare to block his path even for a moment… It was this image that had arisen in the mind of the Tribe Elder of Bear Chart Tribe.

His expression changed drastically. As his mind roared, he instinctively asked, “Who-who is he?”

“A person who is unbeatable even if all of Dark Dawn worked together to fight against him… The strongest cultivator in the universe.” A fanatic look appeared in Yan Pei’s eyes as he mumbled his answer.

When he walked out of the Rune, Su Ming cast a glance at the galaxy in this area. With an indifferent expression on his face, he sent his will sweeping through the area, and it instantly covered the entire Expanse Cosmos.

‘It’s a very small Expanse Cosmos, and no will has been born here… but there’s a clear border between it and the other Expanse Cosmoses. It doesn’t seem as if the border was naturally formed. Instead, it looks like… someone used a great divine ability to divide this place and create it.’

When Su Ming’s will spread out, Yan Pei flew out from the Rune to land beside him.

“Go and investigate the tunnel all of you from Dark Dawn’s camp had set up in the fifth ocean in Arid Triad’s Barren Lands of Divine Essence. It might not have been activated, but find out where the people who acted as the garrisons are currently located,” Su Ming said faintly, then retrieved his will. He did not forcefully sweep through the 180 Expanse Cosmoses. After all… this place also belonged to Arid Triad.

Yan Pei immediately voiced his obedience. Just as he was about to say something, a long arc came charging from the distance. It was the old man who brought the Star Altar Stones. When he came over, he immediately bowed to Yan Pei and delivered three jade boxes to him.

Su Ming swept his gaze over the jade boxes, and his pupils constricted in a barely noticeable manner. He seized space with his right hand, and the three jade boxes instantly charged towards him. Su Ming caught one of them and squeezed it lightly. The jade box shattered to reveal a stone the size of a fingernail in it.

At the instant the jade box shattered, the stone exuded… an aura that caused a grave look to appear on Su Ming’s face!!

He could not identify the aura, but he could deduce at first glance that it did not come from any of the Expanse Cosmoses belonging to Arid Triad, or rather… this aura did not belong to the universe in Harmonious Morus Alba!

The presence… came from the universe beyond!