Pursuit of the Truth

The bald crane shouted out in in a tone as if it was about to risk everything. It screamed in a language Su Ming could not understand. This was the bald crane after it was excited by Su Ming once he said it could obtain all the crystals if it lured one million ferocious beasts.

The bald crane shuddered, but brilliant light shone in its eyes. This light could fuse into the universe, could overturn it, could make a weak being instantly turn peerless in terms of power, and could even make the bald crane go mad.

“Damn it all, I will do it! When a bird dies, its feathers will point towards the sky, but I don’t have feathers! I’m destined to not die! I’ll do it! I’ll definitely do it!”

The bald crane’s eyes were bloodshot as it shouted continuously. Those who understood it knew that this was just it boosting its own morale because it had gone into a frenzy due to the stimulation of the crystals, despite the fact that it was incredibly terrified.

However, if those who did not understand it saw the bald crane acting this way at this moment, they would definitely think that this bird… was a mad bird.

As it roared, it even circled around Su Ming, instinctively flopping about. Its screeches grew stronger, causing the Abyss Dragon to widen its eyes by the side, and it looked down on the bald crane for flinging all caution to the wind for crystals.

‘Hmph. I am a noble Abyss Dragon. I won’t lose my composure in such a manner for such a small benefit. The bald crane looked very smart during our journey, but in truth, it’s just an idiot, huh?’

As the Abyss Dragon regarded the bald crane with scorn, Su Ming’s voice suddenly reached its ears. That voice immediately stunned the Abyss Dragon, and then, it started shuddering like the bald crane.

“Abyss Dragon, do you want the Dragon Tendon you lost in the past?”

The Abyss Dragon stared at Su Ming blankly, speechless.

“You don’t want it? Then forget it.”

“I want it! But taking away my Dragon Tendon was the Emperor of Abyss’ will in the past. He is a Kalpa Lord who is a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death!”

“The Heaven Traversers are one of the four venerated races. They lived in Divine Essence Star Ocean for many years, so you think there aren’t any Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death among them?” Su Ming asked faintly.

The Abyss Dragon shuddered violently.

“I can promise you. When I leave Divine Essence Star Ocean and gain my footing in True Morning Dao World, I will go to the Emperor of Abyss’ True World. I will let you reunite with Yu Xuan and seize back the Dragon Tendon taken from you in the past,” Su Ming promised calmly.

“… I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” As the Abyss Dragon shuddered, its eyes turned red. Even in dreams, it thought to seize back its Dragon Tendon so that it would no longer be in this state.

“I don’t need you luring those ferocious beasts. You can just run with the bald crane, and the rules will be the same for you. If you lure one hundred thousand ferocious beasts, I will give you seven-tenths. If you lure three hundred thousand, I will give you eight-tenths. If you lure five hundred thousand, I will give you nine-tenths, and if you lure one million… I will give you all of it. And I’m talking about your Dragon Tendon.”

Once Su Ming finished speaking, the screeching bald crane stopped moving, and it looked at him with an expression filled with deep emotion, thinking that he was a great person. He was worried about its safety, which was why he sent the Abyss Dragon to be its companion.

“Alright, bald crane. Whether or not you can get those crystals will now depend on you!”

Encouragement appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. This was the first time the bald crane saw this, and its heart was instantly filled with excitement. It began to think even more that Su Ming was truly great to it. Blood rushed to its head, clouding its judgment, and the excitement from the crystals caused it to roar. With a single move, it rushed forward.

The Abyss Dragon’s eyes had also turned bloodshot. It flew forward swiftly, its goal one million ferocious beasts. After all, what it would receive was not crystals. It did not matter to it how many crystals there were lying about. In the end, they were just crystals, but if a portion of its Dragon Tendon went missing and it only received seven-tenths of it, it would no longer be a Dragon Tendon…

For a period of time, only Su Ming and the Duke of Crimson Flame were in the galaxy. The Duke of Crimson Flame looked at the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon leaving into the distance with a pitying gaze, then shook his head.

Su Ming sat down cross-legged and averted his gaze from the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon to look in the direction of Heaven Traversers. After a long while, he closed his eyes and immersed himself in meditating and training.

Su Ming might not know the full extent of the bald crane’s abilities, but he could still somewhat guess that crane’s origins. He knew that no matter how many ordeals it went through, it would not die, unless it ran into ferocious spirits that were on the same level as Ecang.

Besides, Su Ming had controlled the poison wasp when it injected the God Ascension Nectar into its body, and the amount in its body was just a tiny little bit. It would not be able to attract ferocious beasts that were on Ecang’s level.

Most importantly, Su Ming had left a hint of his Atman in the bald crane’s body, so he could learn of all the crane’s actions clearly. This was something Su Ming had done intentionally after leaving Black Ink Planet because the bald crane had made itself infamous with the Dual Fiend’s name there.

At that moment, when Su Ming closed his eyes, he trained with half his attention on the Atman inside the bald crane’s body, just as if he was multitasking. If the bald crane ran into a danger it could not solve, then he would immediately have the Duke of Crimson Flame shift with him.

…..

The bald crane roared, and with a presence that screamed it would not turn back until it reached its goal, it charged forward like a shooting star. As loud whistles were stirred up due to its movements, it rushed forward. The Abyss Dragon followed behind it, and it was just as crazy as the bald crane.

The two old partners could be said to be giving their all, one for crystals, and the other for its Dragon Tendon. With a solemn, tragic air about them as well as excitement, a thick wave of God Ascension Nectar spread out, and like a bright lamp in the galaxy that was as dark as night, they attracted the attention of all the ferocious beasts in the area.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a muffled roar came from the space before them. Three incredibly huge Void Beasts manifested in the galaxy. They possessed bodies that resembled crocodiles, and once they appeared, they fixed their stares on the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon who passed by them in a flash. With loud roars, these three Void Beasts rushed out to chase after the bald crane.

The fragrance from the God Ascension Nectar had stimulated them so much that they had entered a frenzy.

“Come! Come to me, I’ve been waiting for you!”

The terror in the bald crane’s heart had already reached its peak, but the excitement brought by the crystals had also reached its peak, which was why it continued screeching as it charged forward in its craze, as if it could only provide an outlet for its fears by doing so.

While roaring, the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon turned into two long arcs that charged about in the inner parts of Divine Essence Star Ocean. Gradually, a den of flying snakes that had the bodies of pythons but possessed human faces and wings on their backs closed in while hissing. There were tens of thousands of these ferocious beasts, and their tails were shivering. Their eyes had already turned crimson due to the stimulation by the God Ascension Nectar. With monstrous aggressiveness, they charged towards the bald crane as if they had gone mad.

Some time later, loud booms reverberated in a spot even farther away. Those sounds came from a swarm of speckled poisonous wasps packed densely together, each of which was as huge as an average man. They came towards the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon with a loud buzzing.

The bald crane roared and turned around to change its direction. It charged ahead once more, traveling at the fastest speed it could muster. There were nearly one hundred thousand ferocious beasts behind it at that moment, and they were all chasing after it as if they had gone mad. The moment the bald crane and the Abyss Dragon slowed down even a single bit, those creatures would immediately catch up to them.

“How many?!” The bald crane shouted. Fear had occupied most of its heart at that moment, and the thought of giving up rose in its subconsciousness.

“One hundred thousand!” the Abyss Dragon quickly said behind the bald crane. It was also incredibly terrified, especially of the murderous presence the horde of ferocious beasts exuded. That presence caused it to shudder.

“Damn it all, just this little?”

The bald crane was conflicted. There was not even three hundred thousand of these ferocious beasts yet, and Su Ming might not give it those crystals. Then a thought struck its head: Since it had already become bait, it should definitely not work for nothing.

It gritted its teeth and went charging in another direction. As it flew, it continued roaring fiercely. The God Ascension Nectar’s fragrance spread even farther as it continued moving about in Divine Essence Star Ocean.

About an hour later, roars echoed in space, and hundreds of giants walked out. Each of them was nearly one hundred thousand feet tall, and all of them held giant wooden clubs in their hands. They had no eyes on their faces, only huge mouths. Their hair was made of countless thin threads that looked like snakes, and as they spilled over their shoulders, they exuded an incredibly great primitive presence.

Behind them were nearly a hundred thousand ferocious beasts of all sorts of appearances. At that moment, with a madness they had never experienced in their lives, they charged forward like an ocean of beasts coming forth in the form of a tidal wave.

All the roars caused Divine Essence Star Ocean to tremble, and it stirred up a storm that had not been raised for a very long time.

The bald crane shuddered. As it continued flying forward, it shouted out, “How many?!”

“Almost three hundred thousand… Huh?”

The Abyss Dragon had just said half of its sentence when it suddenly stopped. It looked ahead with a terrified gaze. At that moment, the bald crane also saw the galaxy roaring before them. Countless ripples spread out, and they had appeared due to more than tens of thousands of whirlwinds coming into existence.

Each of them was several tens of thousands of feet tall, and they were sweeping forward at a rapid speed. If anyone took a closer look, they would be able to see that there were purplish red things the size of a palm inside. All of them were spinning rapidly, which was how they turned into whirlwinds.

In fact, the galaxy behind them looked as if it had shattered, which was due to black ferocious beasts that looked like elephants that numbered more than a hundred thousand. With a brutal and crazed intent, they charged towards the area.

“Three hundred thousand… four hundred thousand! There are definitely more than four hundred thousand ferocious beasts!” the Abyss Dragon immediately roared. It could not see the end nor the edge of the swarm. There were ferocious beasts in front and after them. There was no end to them, and it was unknown just how wide of an area they occupied.

“Ah! Damn it, why is it only four hundred thousand?!”

The bald crane had almost gone mad. As it roared, it became conflicted again. If it was three hundred thousand ferocious beasts, it would have immediately chosen to bring them to Su Ming and complete its mission without any hesitation, but there were around four hundred thousand of them, and with just a little more, there would be five hundred thousand ferocious beasts, which would mean nine-tenths of the crystals…

The bald crane seized its bald scalp with all its strength. As it gritted its teeth, it let out a loud roar and did not choose to leave. Instead, it chose to change its direction to head deeper into Divine Essence Star Ocean. It sped up madly and charged forward.

The Abyss Dragon too gritted its teeth, then changed its body into that of a huge dog to flee swiftly with the bald crane.