Pursuit of the Truth

The man was not tall. At first glance, he looked like a child that had not grown fully, but when someone looked closely, they would be able to see based on the outline of his face that he was already a grown man.

It was not to say that this person was short, but it was because he was thin and frail, as if a gust of wind would be enough to blow him away.

The thin man did not even spare a glance at Su Ming and the others on the thirteen warships. His attention was trained completely on the meteor as he continued to dig a hole with his right hand.

Banging sounds continued reverberating in the air. This scene caused all those who saw it to be unable to help themselves but feel that there was something strange about this sight.

Su Ming’s gaze landed on the thin man as he remained seated on the warship. Even though it was just a brief glance, at the instant he looked over, he sensed the ripple of power coming from that man’s body.

That was not… the ripple of power from a cultivator, but was instead a ripple of power Su Ming was familiar with and had even seen before – the ripple of power from a Shaman!

This was a Shaman!

A Battle Shaman!

Su Ming narrowed his eyes and lifted his right hand to swing it in the air. The thirteen warships immediately started slowing down, until they stopped completely. For a time, they remained beyond the group of meteors around Divine Essence Star Ocean, staying still in a spot not too far from the meteor with the thin man.

From the start till the current moment, the thin man did not look at Su Ming and the others. He continued digging that hole until approximately the time takes for an incense stick to burn had passed. When he finished digging a deep hole with his hand, the total number of holes around him numbered eight.

His action aroused curiosity in the cultivators from Morning Dao Sect. While they were looking over, Su Ming shook his head. The ripples of power that belonged to a Shaman were mixed, having a presence of other races as well. The thin man was not a pure Shaman.

“Ignore him. Let’s go,” Su Ming said flatly.

Once he spoke, the thirteen warships immediately started moving again. As they approached the place and entered the group of meteors, a strange, shrill cry suddenly rose up from the depths of the group of meteors and turned into a wave of sound that surged towards them.

Along with the wave of sound were nine long arcs. These nine long arcs traveled at an incredibly fast pace. They weaved in and out of the meteors and closed in on the meteor with the nine holes within an instant to stand in front of the thin man.

The long arcs faded away, and nine men with messy hair appeared. Their clothes were distinctly different from those of other cultivators and seemed to be long robes made out of hides. There were also plenty of colors on the nine people’s face, preventing others from seeing their faces clearly. Only a ferocious totem drawn there could be seen distinctly.

This totem was drawn with red and white paint. With their shining, chilling eyes, the nine man gave off an incredibly dangerous feeling.

Their ages could not be determined. The only thing that could be seen was that there were no women among them. The person standing in the lead held a thick, black bone staff in his hand. Judging by the looks of it, that bone staff was the leg bone of some ferocious beast.

There were red threads intersecting with each other on that staff, and they shone with a strange, enchanting light.

The appearance of the nine people instantly caused a primitive and violent presence to charge towards those from Morning Dao Sect.

“Galloping Fighters. This race lives at the periphery of Divine Essence Star Ocean. They are a normal race, and they have about a thousand members. All Galloping Fighters love fighting and are incredibly fierce. They do not have much connection to the world outside. In Black Ink Planet’s records, this race is considered an uncivilized race,” the catwoman next to Su Ming immediately whispered softly.

Almost at the instant she said these words into Su Ming’s ears, the nine Galloping Fighters roared towards the heavens together. The freezing glare in their eyes grew brighter. They first looked at Su Ming and the crowd before swiftly charging towards the thin man from nine directions.

“I missed one…” a cold and apathetic voice said. The thin man lifted his head and veins popped up on his right hand. With a roar, an eerie, chilling glare shone on his teeth. During that instant, his teeth changed and became much sharper.

He brought out an herb from his bosom and chewed it, then bent down to pick up a stone he had dug out when he was digging the holes. With a single step, he charged towards the nine people.

A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes, and a slight hint of interest appeared in them. He was not interested in the man, but the herb he was chewing on. Su Ming’s knowledge towards medicinal herbs allowed him to tell at first glance that that herb was not used to cure injuries, but contained a form of poison.

But that interest was not great and could not make him pay any further attention. The thirteen warships continued moving forward and gradually moved past the meteor.

Just as they were about to leave into the distance, the thin man let out a roar and crashed into one of the Galloping Fighters. With a loud bang, his chest was injured badly, but he let out a ferocious smile, completely unbothered by it, then rammed his head against the Galloping Fighter’s forehead. He opened his mouth wide and bit down on the person’s throat. With a yank, blood gushed out all over the place, and the man instantly retreated.

A shrill scream of pain reverberated in the air, and the Galloping Fighter who had his throat torn open retreated while pressing a hand to his neck. He might have stopped the blood flow, but he could not stop a black hue from spreading down his skin. This was poison. It came from the thin man’s teeth, and it came from that herb used moments before.

‘The poison is pretty good.’ After seeing all this, Su Ming averted his gaze.

The thin man moved incredibly quickly on the meteor. As he retreated, he turned around swiftly and crushed the stone in his right hand. When it turned into powder and he flung it upwards, he struck his own chest and coughed up a mouthful of blood. The blood and powder fused together and started burning swiftly to turn into a fire bird that charged towards a Galloping Fighter.

At the same time, he roared and rushed towards another person.

Within an instant, screams of pain reverberated in the air, and another two Galloping Fighters died under the thin man’s hands. When he attacked, his actions were filled with madness and bloodthirst. Every single part of his body could turn into a murderous weapon.

However, when four of the nine Galloping Fighters had died, a dark glint shone in the eyes of the member of the alien race with the bone staff. He opened his mouth and bit down on his bone staff, and with a loud crunch, he crushed a small portion of the bone. At the same time he chewed it in his mouth, he lifted the bone staff and pointed at the center of his brows.

As he did so, his body started trembling, and he instantly became thinner. In the blink of an eye, he was reduced to only skin and bones. The red threads on the bone staff started squirming about. Almost at the instant that member of the alien race became emaciated, thick, black fog erupted from the bone staff.

The fog was thick, and when it appeared, it tumbled about before turning into a black snake. As it hissed, it charged towards the thin man.

At that moment, the thirteen warships had already left the area of the meteor, which was also where the group was fighting. The ships entered a group of meteors. Su Ming did not pay attention to the battle and massacre behind him. He could tell that the thin man and the Galloping Fighters did not pay any attention to them, starting a fight to the death in front of their eyes, completely unbothered by their presence.

And since Su Ming did not send an order, all the cultivators on the thirteen warships would not attack. Instead, they only looked at the battle coldly while the ships moved forward.

When the thin man saw the fog snake coming towards him, his pupils shrank, and he swiftly retreated, but the other four Galloping Fighters chased after him with bloodlust and an intent to slaughter him.

A ruthless look appeared in his eyes. He stopped moving, then instead of retreating, he turned around, and charged straight towards the four people.

Both sides instantly crashed into each other, and booming sounds echoed in the air, along with creams of pain. One of the four had his neck twisted; another had his heart dug out; yet another had his body torn apart; while the last one had his skull shattered when the thin man rammed his head against it. In the blink of an eye, the four Galloping Fighters had all died wretched and miserable deaths.

The thin man staggered. His right hand was paralysed. There was a wound on his abdomen, and blood was pouring out continuously from it.

However, he did not spare a single glance to it. He was about to rush towards the Galloping Fighter with the bone staff in his hand when the four people who had died by his feet suddenly opened their eyes. Gray light shone in them.

Almost at the instant the gray hue appeared, the thin man’s body trembled, as if a sealing power was traveling out of the eyes of the four dead Galloping Fighters. That power sealed his body, making him unable to move.

The fog snake charged towards him and surrounded his body, biting into it as if it wanted to eat him whole.

The hint of a cold sneer appeared on the lips of the thin Galloping Fighter who was sitting cross-legged on the ground with the bone staff in hand, but the next moment, his expression changed into that of shock.

It was at this moment that Su Ming jolted while on the thirteen warships that had already left into the distance. He stood up swiftly, then turned around to stare at the battlefield on the meteor that was behind him.

His breathing quickened, and he lifted his right hand and swung it in space, causing the thirteen warships to instantly stop in the group of meteors.

A bang shot up in space, and Su Ming saw the fog snake around the thin man shatter into pieces. A gigantic, illusory figure appeared behind him, and it was a giant with thick, black fur.

There was an old man sitting cross-legged on the giant’s head. His body was also an illusion, and he was just as indistinct as the giant. But whether it was the giant or the old man, they were both the God of Shamans for the Shamans. After being worshiped for many years, they were similar to the Berserkers’ statue of the God of Berserkers when used for divine abilities.

What made Su Ming lose his composure was not the giant, but the old man sitting on its head. During the instant the thin man brought out his God of Shamans, Su Ming sensed a strong familiar feeling. That familiarity caused his heart to tremble. When he saw the old man on the giant’s head with his own eyes, he shook.

That old man’s face might be indistinct and his body an illusion, but the white robe he wore and the memories Su Ming would never forget in his life were enough to make him tremble.

“Master…” he mumbled. He was the only one who could hear his own voice.

The illusory figure on the giant’s head… was Tian Xie Zi!