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Chapter 474: Destiny!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

'There are plenty of things in the world that are binary opposites of each other, and it's even more so in this Undying and Imperishable World. This is because the Candle Dragon's desire is to devour the Nine-Headed Dragon. It is just as it said, since the universe already has the Candle Dragon, then why is there a need for the Nine-Headed Dragon to exist..?

'This is the legacy of the Candle Dragons…

'But clearly, this Candle Dragon didn't manage to devour the Nine-Headed Dragon, that's why… this Undying and Imperishable World is imperfect. Since the Candle Dragon is dead, even its will was left frozen the moment it opened up this world and sucked me inside. If that is the case, it means that this Undying and Imperishable World is imperfect!

'There is a great flaw in this place, and this flaw has become the Candle Dragon's regret. That flaw is this so called fusion that is shown in this place!

'In truth, there is no such thing as true fusion. It doesn't matter whether it's lightness and heaviness, swiftness or slowness, or this pressing down and seizing air. All of this is just the Candle Dragon's imitation in this Undying and Imperishable World!"

Su Ming's eyes shone with a brilliant light and he lifted his head to look at the gray sky.

"Fusion is the core of the Undying and Imperishable World. It is also the truth that the Candle Dragon has laid out! It once said that it devoured ninety-seven World Planes, then is it possible to say that the Candle Dragon's Undying and Imperishable World is formed by all these devoured World Planes? This world is formed so that the Candle Dragon could use it to gain an epiphany, all for the sake of devouring the Nine-Headed Dragon someday, so that it could complete its race's mission and fulfill its people's desires over the years…"

"To leave this place, I will have to either obtain a power to break this place and force my way out, or… I will have to find out what true fusion is!"

"But what exactly is my fusion..?" Su Ming mumbled as he looked at the gray sky, his eyes filling with uncertainty.

"Life and death..?" Su Ming's eyes gradually lit up with a brilliant sparkle.

In the blink of an eye, another thirty years passed. During them, Su Ming sat on the hill without moving an inch, constantly thinking and trying to understand the true meaning behind fusion. He was immersed in a strange situation. A feeling of ages past radiated off his face, and an air of time slowly emerged from his body.

There was an increasing amount of white fog around him, and it was all formed by the undying souls that tried to eat Su Ming over the years.

That white fog continuously attracted more undying souls to the place. However, when these undying souls closed in on Su Ming, they would immediately explode with shrill cries and die, turning into white fog.

Those souls continuously woke up beside Su Ming and died. The process repeated itself incessantly and turned into a ceaseless cycle.

'The hundreds upon thousands of incarnations is an exchange between death and life. It's very easy for a person to find the signs that mark life and death during this process, but it doesn't matter whether it is life or death, in the Undying and Imperishable World, there is no one who is truly alive, and neither is there anyone who is truly dead...

'No matter how much I go through, this is still just like a dream. When I wake up, everything will remain an illusion… This isn't my fusion.' On the day thirty years later, Su Ming opened his eyes and shook his head. He lifted his right hand and casually swung it outward.

With that one swing, the thick white fog immediately spread out and only stopped when it had traveled one hundred thousand feet away from Su Ming. At the same time, distortions began to appear around him, even though he remained seated. If anyone was looking, they would feel that they could see Su Ming with their eyes, but in their perception, the place where he sat was empty.

Before long, reawakened undying souls seeped out of the ground in succession. These undying souls seemed to not have seen Su Ming and did not pounce on him as they normally would have done. Instead, they left the place with a vacant look in their eyes, and gradually, no more undying souls were born in Su Ming's area.

Even the souls passing by could not discover Su Ming's existence and simply floated past him.

Another twenty years passed by, and during them, Su Ming never once stopped thinking.

'Lightness and heaviness… Swiftness and slowness, pressing down and seizing… These things are simply different in terms of their characteristics, and I learned them from others during my numerous incarnations. They don't belong to me… These binary opposites must have come to be because of the ninety-seven worlds the Candle Dragon devoured… These aren't my fusions.���

"My fusion has to belong solely to me…" Su Ming mumbled. "What could it possibly be?"

Su Ming closed his eyes. He had been thinking about this for fifty years, and he still had not obtained his answer. Feeling lost, he gradually immersed himself in his memories and looked through them. The pictures in those memories were unfamiliar to him. After all, he had gone through hundreds of thousands of incarnations here, and many years had gone by during that time.

As he looked through those memories, he saw himself bringing the two youths whose names he had forgotten into the World of Nine Yin, then to the Candle Dragon's burial ground. He saw himself entering the Candle Dragon's body and also saw the old man in black robes.

Everything that transpired in the World of Nine Yin flashed by quickly, then he saw a rather familiar mountain range and remembered that it was the location of his cave abode, then he saw Hong Luo, saw Di Tian, and saw… the ninth summit.

His memories continued running backwards, and from the ninth summit, he returned to Han Mountain City, and then from Han Mountain City, he returned… to Dark Mountain.

The things that happened in Dark Mountain were things that he would never forget. His elder, Bei Ling, Wu La, Lei Chen, Shan Hen, and also… Bai Ling.

"All of this is my past." As Su Ming recollected his past, grief rose in his heart, but a soul could not cry. If it could, then tears would have fallen out of Su Ming's eyes.

"The most precious things in my life are Dark Mountain, the ninth summit, and my past… What I want to protect are also Dark Mountain, the ninth summit, and my past…" Su Ming whispered softly.

"I cannot change anything in the past. It is buried in my memories, along with all the years I have lived. The past is in my hands, and I will never forget anyone… This is one side of my life!"

Su Ming opened his eyes. They were dull but looked profound, as if the universe itself was contained within them.

"One side of this binary opposite is what has been set in stone after it has happened, and the other side is continual changes that would occur for what has not happened. If my past is one side of my life, then the other side… would be my future!"

Su Ming fell silent for a moment and his gaze fell on the endless world in the distance. A faint look of absentmindedness appeared in his eyes.

As his mind wandered, he seemed to see himself tied up by multiple chains in a black swamp located in an abyss in the ground. There were nine black dragons blowing black fog at him, and there were several people in the sky above him, looking at him warily and coldly. They did not say a word, merely looked at him silently.

The scene changed, and he saw himself with purple hair standing at the highest spot in the sky as he looked at the earth with an aloof gaze. An innumerable amount of lives knelt down and worshipped him on the ground.

The scene changed once again, and he saw himself lying on an altar with golden needles stabbing his entire body. A large amount of smoke spread out from his body and it was all absorbed by the thousands of people sitting cross-legged around him. When they absorbed that smoke, delight would show on their faces, and it was a stark contrast compared to his face, twisted in pain.

The pictures had not ended. They changed once again, and it was difficult for Su Ming to know whether this was just an illusion or whether it truly happened before.

He saw himself once again. This time, he had long red hair, and he was dressed in a white long robe. There was a hint of loneliness in his eyes and a touch of grief on his face. His hands, stained with blood, were filled with a murderous aura that surged into the skies, as if hundreds upon millions of lives had been crushed by his hands.

He stood in a world where the stars sparkled in the dark. There were… an endless amount of corpses around him… He was the only person standing there, and he roared towards the sky, a shrill roar that caused the world Su Ming saw shatter into millions of pieces.

That roar was filled with an indescribable grief and a burning rage that could destroy the sky and earth!

At that moment, as Su Ming sat on the hill, his vision crumbled and fell apart with a bang, turning into wisps of gray fog that scattered away. His world shattered and disappeared in an instant.

It was as if his eyes could not withstand all that he saw in that strange condition. At the instant his vision shattered, Su Ming lifted his head. His eyes were empty, and the world before him was black, just darkness that stretched endlessly.

He should originally not be able to see anything in that darkness, but at that moment, he saw…

He saw a frail infant with no life force remaining within him. His entire body was filled with the air of death. He saw a man with purple hair standing there with exhaustion and grief seeping out of his entire body as he let out a silent roar towards the skies.

He saw the entire world and all of heaven crumble as that silent roar tumbled out of the man's lips…

He saw the man with purple hair walking towards the baby. He saw them slowly fusing together the instant they got closer to each other. It was as if the man filled with grief wanted to protect the baby while holding him in his arms, just like how Su Ming protected his past.

He saw…

"No one can see the world that I see…" These words came out of Su Ming's mouth in a whisper.

There was a pair of hands in a wanderer's eyes that symbolized his deeply rooted longing ache for his home.

There was a pair of hands in the eyes of a pair of lovers who stayed together despite times of hardship that symbolized an eternity of being together.

There was a pair of hands in a lonely person's eyes that simply meant an addition of palm lines as time went by.

There was a pair of hands in a child's eyes that symbolized an unforgettable attachment.

There was a pair of hands whose palms symbolized the past, and the back of which symbolized the future. If one did not want to, then the memories in his palms would forever be protected in his grasp. If he did not want to, then no one could see his palm lines and see his past… The only thing anyone could see was the back of that person's hands, forever and ever.

There was a pair of hands where the left symbolized infancy, and the right symbolized old age. The changeable distance between these two hands symbolized his life.

'My fusion is the fusion between the past and the future. With my past, I will urge my future self to be stronger, then with the strength of my future self, I will protect my past…

'When I was born, I couldn't control my own fate. Once I grow up, I will step on fate itself… When the past and future fuse together, they will become the present.' Su Ming opened his eyes, and the emptiness caused by the shattering of his vision turned into calmness.

'This is my fusion, and I will call it…' The shadow of a cold sneer appeared on Su Ming's lips.

"I will call it… Destiny!"

Chapter 475: Undying and Imperishable World… Open!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The instant Su Ming said that word, he stood up, and even if someone was beside him, they would not be able to see the world he saw in his empty eyes right at that moment.

He stood on the hill and took a deep breath. He had already stayed in this place for countless years, and he still had many things he wanted to do: use his awakening to make the Candle Dragon's will completely disappear, and in exchange, have his small snake obtain the serendipity only given to its kind!

He remained silent for a while before lifting his foot and walking forward. As he walked, he ran into numerous undying souls. However, they seemed to not have seen him and just let him walk past, remaining blissfully ignorant and unaware of his presence.

It did not matter whether it was the battles to devour each other between hundreds of undying souls, or even thousands, or tens upon thousands, or even the shocking battles between hundreds upon thousands of undying souls.

In fact, even the undying souls engaged in the battles that numbered to more than the hundred thousands, or the millions, and even tens of millions, could not see Su Ming, just like Su Ming, whose eyes remained empty, could not see them.

Su Ming walked past these numerous undying souls, and neither he nor the undying souls touched each other. It was as if everything in the world followed a certain law, and that was if Su Ming's heart remained calm and his eyes did not see, then everything did not exist.

The path he took did not change no matter what happened, and that direction he was headed to was the spot where he eventually scattered away in all his numerous incarnations - the towering mountain and the gigantic statue of the dragon snake.

As Su Ming walked forward, he met the apathetic old man in white robes flying through the sky and also ran into the man who had mastered the skill of lightness and heaviness charging through the ground.

He ran into many other Undying warrior souls as he moved forward, but he did not see them, and neither did they see him.

An unknown amount of time passed by, and eventually, a towering mountain appeared before Su Ming. There was a dreary air surrounding the giant statue as its body was illuminated by the gray sky.

This was the first time Su Ming came to this place since he recovered all his memories.

He looked at the mountain as if he could see it.

"I'm about to leave now…" Su Ming whispered under his breath. Just as he was about to walk forward, his footsteps suddenly froze, and he slowly turned his head around. No light could be seen shining from his empty eyes, but his gaze was directed towards an apathetic old man dragging his exhausted body towards the mountain.

That old man was dressed in black robes and his face was decorated by age. He walked towards the mountain as if he was on a pilgrimage, and perhaps he was the same as Su Ming, going through an unknown number of incarnations before he eventually made it to this place, then reincarnated, falling into another cycle that would never end and never cease.

That old man was the person who had appeared within the Candle Dragon's body in an attempt to use the small snake to threaten the remnants of the Candle Dragon's will, forcing it to activate the Undying and Imperishable World. He was Di Tian's servant, the person who monitored Su Ming's actions in the land of the Berserkers!

But a pity, he underestimated the Candle Dragon's pride. It was why the strand of his divine sense was forcefully absorbed into the Undying and Imperishable World to suffer through endless cycles of life and death.

He had also dragged his body into this mess, forcing himself to endure the Curse eating away at his body!

As if he could see, Su Ming looked in the old man's direction. After a long while, he lifted his feet and walked towards the old man. When he got closer, the old man remained blissfully unaware and ignorant of his presence, simply continuing on with his path towards the mountain that was summoning him.

Su Ming walked beside the old man in black robes. Then, with a calm expression, he lifted his right hand and plunged it into the old man's soul. That person's body jolted and pain appeared on his face. The instant he wanted to struggle, Su Ming brought his hand out, and there was a wisp of green fog in his palm.

That fog surrounded Su Ming's hand and stayed in his palm. Once he seized it, he no longer bothered himself with the old man and walked towards the mountain.

Su Ming would not kill the old man, because suffering through the endless cycles of life here was worse than dying. It would just bring the old man happiness if Su Ming killed him.

What he wanted to kill was the old man's body outside. Only by killing him would Su Ming be able to quell his hatred.

When Su Ming arrived at the mountain and stepped on the many scales on the dragon snake's body, he sensed the familiar words written on them. Those words symbolized his incarnations and his perseverance.

Su Ming began walking towards the dragon snake's head, and when he eventually reached there, he lifted his head and looked at the sky.

"Candle Dragon, since this is the fate of your kind, then there is nothing wrong about you wanting to devour my snake… I respect you. I have woken up despite your Curse, and now, I will walk out of this place."

Su Ming spoke quietly, but the instant he said those words, wind suddenly stirred in the peaceful gray sky, and clouds surged in the heavens. Thunderous roars that shook the skies traveled forth.

A thunder clap sounded as if the sky itself was roaring, causing the old man in black robes to shudder and kneel on the ground. All the other undying souls in the endless world also shuddered in the midst of their fights and prostrated themselves on the ground.

Fear, too, had appeared on the faces of the powerful Undying warrior souls, and all of them fell down on the ground to worship the sky.

The thunder clap seemed to be a response to Su Ming's words. Once he finished speaking, with a calm expression, he stood on the dragon snake's head and lifted both of his hands slowly.

"My palms symbolize my past, and the back of my hands represent my future…" Su Ming lifted his right hand high into the sky with his palm facing downward while the back of his hand was turned upward, then moved his left hand in the opposite direction.

"The fusion of the past and present will appear when these two hands come into contact, and the power when the past and future fuse together will bloom!" Su Ming's right hand began descending slowly towards his left hand.

"I call the power of fusing the past and future together as… Destiny!" During that instant, Su Ming's right hand and left hand touched each other.

Right when they came into contact, Su Ming's body began trembling viciously. Veins popped up on his face. His long hair started dancing in the air without wind and his robes fluttered furiously. Behind him, an illusory figure of a baby appeared. That baby did not cry. He had his eyes wide open, and there was only gray in there, as if he was dead.

The world distorted and a man with purple hair gradually emerged. The man's face was filled with grief as he lifted his head to look at the sky. The instant he appeared, an astonishing change immediately happened in the Undying and Imperishable World.

The gray sky started rotating as if it was fog. The white hue on the ground instantly turned black as if it was dyed in ink and started trembling viciously.

"The Fusion of Destiny: First Fusion."

The instant Su Ming started mumbling, the illusory man with purple hair standing before him moved towards him, and at the same time, a gray light shone in the baby's eyes and he charged towards Su Ming from behind him.

At that instant, the past and future turned into a gigantic vortex around Su Ming. The vortex became increasingly faster as it spun, and eventually, it sucked Su Ming inside. He disappeared, and during that moment, there was only a gigantic vortex above the dragon snake's head above the mountain in that world.

That vortex spun with loud rumbling sounds. Within it contained Su Ming's future, past, and his present. All of this had turned into the greatest creation he had gained out of his epiphany in the Undying and Imperishable Realm!

Destiny!

As that vortex spun, a hand shot out from within. It was a pale hand, and it seemed to contain no strength. However, the instant that hand stretched out, it slowly curled its fingers into a fist, and the rapidly spinning vortex froze instantaneously before charging straight towards it, making it seem like the hand had completely frozen the vortex during the process it formed that fist.

When the vortex disappeared, a person appeared on the dragon snake's head. It was a boy with half a head of purple hair and the other half white. He looked to be only about eight or nine years old, but his skin gave off a dreary air. However, his eyes shone with the light of eternity.

He lifted his head and stared at the gray sky coldly. Without a single word, he abruptly charged upwards, and the instant he got closer, he lifted his right hand and pressed against the sky, as if he was supporting it.

The gray shade that was rotating in the sky as if it was fog let out a huge rumble. The entire sky started trembling and the fog started rolling backwards, layer by layer, as if those layers were being stripped off one by one. It was as if the sky had turned into a gigantic wooden block, and it was rapidly becoming thinner with each passing moment.

Right at that moment, a thunderous rumble that sounded like a furious roar sliced towards that boy from all directions. Soon after, all the undying souls in the Undying and Imperishable World exploded with a shiver, turning into a large amount of white fog that charged upwards. The endless white fog filled the entire sky in an instant before gathering together swiftly right where Su Ming was.

As that white fog merged together, it turned into a gigantic body whose end could not be seen before Su Ming, and it was the Candle Dragon!

It roared and opened its mouth wide towards him. Compared to it, Su Ming was like an ant, but not a single hint of change could be detected on his face. Almost the instant the gigantic Candle Dragon devoured him, he lifted his left hand and pressed downwards.

At that moment, he had his right hand supporting the sky and his left hand pressing down on the ground. As he pushed forcefully with both his hands, the sky and earth started rumbling violently. Then, a large amount of visible cracks that could be seen with the naked eye appeared in the sky, and as the ground shook, deep chasms tore through the land.

"Undying and Imperishable World… open!"

This was the first sentence Su Ming said after he fused his past and present together. His voice was icy cold, containing both an ancient air and a feeling of youthfulness, giving off an incredible impression to others.

The instant Su Ming said those words, he forcefully pushed upwards and downwards with both hands again!

Right at that moment, a crack suddenly appeared right at the center of the tenth moon in the World of Nine Yin. It was as if a great force was tearing it apart from within. That strange change immediately caught the attention of all the living in the World of Nine Yin, plunging them into shock.

At the same time, as the fossilized Candle Dragon laid in its burial ground, a crack also appeared right in the middle of the third eye at the center of its brows on its gigantic head, just like on the tenth moon in the sky. It was as if there was someone who wanted to force that eye to open!

Chapter 476: This is Life

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The entire World of Nine Yin was in a state of shock. Numerous gazes were trained on the tenth moon in the sky, the crack that was slowly widening from the inside.

From the distance, this tenth moon was like an eye that was opening slowly. This strange sight made all the people who saw it get the false impression that if that eye opened completely, it would cause the sky and earth to shatter!

The World of Nine Yin within the one million lis belonging to the Shamans was now largely different compared to the time Su Ming stepped into the Candle Dragon's burial ground. The strange forest had become several times bigger, and all the dangerous areas Su Ming had detected in the past had also become much larger.

As for Shaman City, it… no longer existed…

The majestic city that served as a sign that the Shamans occupied that particular area in the World of Nine Yin had now turned into ruins. All the buildings had been destroyed and whatever remained of them was scattered everywhere.

The huge head that was lifted into the sky by a giant stone pillar in the past was also gone. It was difficult to imagine just what sort of change could have happened that caused the Shamans to be unable to defend their city…

There was a gigantic hole in the sky above the ruins of Shaman City. From the distance, that hole looked like a vortex that remained still and unmoving. There were dried up branches above that hole. Those branches had appeared out of nowhere, as if the sky was the spot where they had hidden their roots. As they spread out, they surrounded the entire vortex and wound themselves tightly around it like a seal.

However, the place was not void of life. Some people could be seen flickering through the ruins, even though their presences were difficult to spot. They would enter the ruins quickly, and then swiftly fly out once more.

If anyone took a closer look, they would find that these people were a mere handful of Shamans.

Besides the Candle Dragon's burial ground, there were two other spots that were considered as sacred grounds to the Shamans within the one million lis around Shaman City. One of them was the birthplace of the Spirit Mediums - the mass grave. Over there, they could sense the presence of death, and if the people possessed a unique aptitude, they could become Spirit Mediums.

The other was the birthplace of Thought Soothsayers - an altar that was built with numerous beast bones. There was a power contained within the altar that would not lose to the Candle Dragon. That power would make all those who invaded its territory be plagued by hallucinations until they died. If they did not die, then once they broke free, they would possess a similar power, and those were the Thought Soothsayers.

As of then, there were some Shamans staying in a valley near that beast bone altar. The total number of Shamans staying there was less than a thousand. All of them had yellowish complexions and they were thin, dressed in ragged clothes. They looked incredibly pathetic. Their gazes were also filled with vigilance. However, when they saw the bizarre change appearing on the tenth moon in the sky, that vigilance turned into panic.

Among these people was a person who sat in a corner of the valley. He was dressed in a black robe and his face was also covered, but it still could not cover the rotten stench coming from his body. Hidden under his robes were black patches of varying sizes decorating his skin.

Those black patches were the source of his decay, and they were also the reason for his torment and his endless suffering.

Almost the moment the other people lifted their heads to look at the tenth moon in the sky in shock, the person in black robes also lifted his head and looked towards the sky. However, right when he saw that a change had appeared on the tenth, his expression drastically changed.

The others might not know about this tenth moon, but he did! He knew that this moon was the Candle Dragon's Undying and Imperishable World, and if such a change occurred to it, then it meant that someone was about to force his way out of the Undying and Imperishable World!

"Impossible… It can't be him!" the person in black mumbled.

He was indeed the person who had separated a thread of his divine sense, using the Destiny Talisman, in the past to have Su Ming be sucked into the Undying and Imperishable World, who was Di Tian's servant and the overseer of Su Ming's actions in the land of the Berserkers!

He might not have died despite the Curse burdening his body, but due to some accidents, he had lost his chance to leave and was forced to stay in this place with the others who could not leave, living through every single day like cowardly turtles.

Compared to the others' despair, he never lost hope. He believed that once his master descended to this place, he would come and look for him, then save him.

However, once he saw the change in the tenth month, his heart was filled with disbelief. He had learned of the rumors surrounding the Undying and Imperishable World a long time ago. He knew that this was a place that practically no one could escape, and it was difficult for him to believe all that he was seeing.

There were two other people in the crowd that Su Ming would find incredibly familiar if he saw them. One of them was a middle-aged man with messy hair. His robes were torn and his face was filled with stubbles. He looked incredibly miserable as he sat quietly on a mountain rock while looking at the sky. There was a slight hint of uncertainty on his face.

'He disappeared into the Candle Dragon's land that year, and I heard someone say before that this tenth moon symbolizes the Candle Dragon activating the Undying and Imperishable World. Could this change… be connected to him…' In his silence, nostalgia appeared on the middle-aged man's face. He was Nan Gong Hen!

The other person was an old man whose face was filled with a bleak air. He lay on the ground with dull and lifeless eyes, and his body was thin as bones. He stared at the tenth moon in the sky blankly, and if Su Ming saw him in that valley, he would be able to somewhat tell that this person was the Latter Shaman, Tie Mu.

There was a one armed young man taking care of him by his side. That young man would occasionally lift his head to look at the tenth moon in the sky, but he would not say a single word.

There were also other living creatures who saw that tenth moon in the sky, and they were men who lived on the vast land of the World of Nine Yin outside the valley. These men were several hundreds of feet tall, and they were men who looked like trees possessing heads and four limbs.

These men looked incredibly similar to the Spirits of Nine Yin. They wore armor and resided in many places within the World of Nine Ying. All of them saw the strange change on the tenth moon in the sky.

There were also illusory shadows of men and women besides the Spirits of Nine Yin existing within the territory that once belonged to the Shamans. These people looked quite transparent and their bodies could not be seen clearly.

Besides these creatures, there was also a race existing in the sky. These were living beings that had a pair of wings growing off their backs even though their bodies were those of humans. However, those wings looked like bats' wings, and a singular horn could usually be found on these people's heads.

These three races occupied the territory that once belonged to the Shamans, and even stationed themselves in three locations around the valley where the remaining Shamans lived.

The change within the tenth moon in the sky had also caught a great deal of attention from the three races. Compared to the Shamans, they possessed more knowledge regarding it and what it meant.

"The Candle Dragon activated the Undying and Imperishable World all those years ago, and now it's showing signs of opening. Could it be that the person who went in back then is coming out?"

Within the territory occupied by the people with bat wings on their backs was a giant oval shaped ball several hundreds upon thousands of feet tall. That ball floated in midair, and around it were many other smaller black ovular shaped balls. There was a ghastly voice echoing in that area at that moment, and it was unknown which ball that voice came from.

In another direction and in another region was a spot where there were plenty of the transparent and illusory people. There were several altars in that region, and they were all very strange. Their forms were caught in between a state of being real and being an illusion. It was difficult for people to discern whether they truly existed.

"A person who can walk out of the dead Candle Dragon's Undying and Imperishable World definitely has something unique about him… Let's try taking him into our tribe first…"

In the final direction and also the region that was furthest away from the Candle Dragon's burial ground was a land filled with a forest that spanned endlessly. This area was the dwelling place for the men whose gigantic bodies were like dried wood and who covered themselves in armor - the Spirits of Nine Yin.

Within that endless forest were huge palaces. If anyone took a closer look, then they would be able to see clearly that these palaces were almost the exact same as the palace in Shaman City, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say… that they were the same!

The gigantic stone statues stood right beside these palaces, and they remained still and unmoving. One of the stone statues was clearly the Spirit of Nine Yin Su Ming had rented in the past!

His fossilized body remained unmoving, but his head was lifted up towards the sky to look at the tenth moon, and there was a slightly complicated look in his eyes.

Further down ahead was an old man sitting cross-legged within the hall. He did not lift his head to look at the sky, but only let out a soft sigh.

"Who would have thought that he would truly be able to walk out from that place..?"

At the moment almost all eyes in the World of Nine Yin looked towards the tenth moon, the statue of the dragon snake rose into the sky within the Candle Dragon's Undying and Imperishable World. Its body had become much smaller. Su Ming, whose hair was now half purple and half white, stood facing the giant Candle Dragon formed by the endless white fog in the world, and he was as aloof as ever.

He lifted his left hand from pressing downwards to the ground, and the instant the Candle Dragon closed in on him with a furious howl, he drew half a circle with his left index finger before him.

"This is the past…"

He lowered his left hand and completed the other half of the circle by drawing the remaining arc of the circle with his right index finger.

"This is the future…"

Once he drew the completed circle, Su Ming pressed his left hand on the back of his right hand, then pushed the circle before him swiftly.

"This is the present… and it is also… Destiny!"

With that one push, a piercing light erupted forth from the circle and it grew immeasurably large before it charged straight towards the Candle Dragon, crashing into its huge body in an instant. A loud rumble that shook the sky and earth resounded, and as the sound reverberated in the air, a powerful impact swept towards Su Ming, but the moment it closed in on him, Su Ming opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath.

The white fog contained within the impact was sucked into Su Ming's mouth at an astonishing pace, and at the same time, he moved his right hand upwards and his left hand downwards once more, then pushed at the sky and earth with all his strength!

A large area of the sky fell apart and the ground started trembling viciously. Then, as if it was seized by a pair of invisible hands, the crack between the sky and earth was abruptly ripped apart!

The instant the crack was ripped apart, a violent rumble reverberated in the air, and a gigantic crack that connected the sky and earth appeared! Su Ming charged upwards, and in the blink of an eye… disappeared inside it.

"Undying and Imperishable… If you devour those souls, you will not die, and if you don't devour them, you will not perish. However, devouring and not devouring are like two polar opposites, and this cannot be considered a fusion… The true fusion is when you manage to not devour while you eat, and while you eat, you don't devour…"

Su Ming mumbled under his breath the instant he stepped into the crack, and understanding appeared in his eyes.

"This is life."

Chapter 477: Candle Dragon's Blessing!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The crack within the tenth moon in the sky was completely opened, making it seem as if the tenth moon had opened its eye and was looking at the ground with a gaze that had attained enlightenment.

"This is his gaze. He… came out…" the old man mumbled under his breath as he sat in the valley. A bitter look appeared on his face, along with despair.

In the forest that covered the entire land lying on the other side of the valley was the Spirit of Nine Yin that was looking at the sky. He sighed and closed his eyes.

In one of the palaces right behind him was the old Spirit of Nine Yin. He too closed his eyes.

In the region lying in the other direction that was filled with numerous illusory figures was an indistinct figure. It could be seen that the person was a woman, and she was drifting through the land with a vacant look on her face as she stared at the moon in the sky.

Her appearance suggested that she should be incredibly beautiful. However, the current vacant look and change in her appearance made it difficult for people to imagine just what could have possibly happened to her.

The gigantic body that had fossilized all those years ago in the Candle Dragon's burial ground had also started recovering slowly. As it was restored to its original form, a thick, rotten stench spread out, and all the spots that had been restored from its petrified state started rapidly decaying until they disintegrated.

Within the huge region in the Candle Dragon's head was a breathtakingly beautiful woman's head. The head was the only thing that was not fossilized, but at that moment, dark patches began covering her whole head, and she started rotting.

Right before her was a stone statue, and that statue was Su Ming!

Starting from the head, a brilliant light slowly shone on the statue, and the petrification on his body faded away gradually, like a receding tide. A strong wave of life force rapidly gushed out from the stone statue, and it was becoming stronger with each passing moment.

It was quiet all around them. The decay of the woman's head symbolized her life force fading away and her imminent death, forming a stark contrast to Su Ming's body.

After some time, as the woman's head continued rotting, her eyelashes fluttered lightly and she slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of eyes filled with age and time, along with wisdom.

She looked at Su Ming, simply looked at him, and gradually, a vortex appeared at the center of her brows. It started spinning slowly.

"You, who have walked out of the Undying and Imperishable World… have found the fusion that belongs solely to you. You have earned my respect… This is our fate as Candle Dragons…

"I will keep to my promise and let myself be devoured by my kind willingly. With what remains of my will and body, I will… bless his new life… and I will also bless… your new life…

"With the blessing of the Candle Dragons with you, I hope that you can walk further down with my kind…

"The other side of curses is blessings. With my dissipating body and with ninety-seven worlds I devoured, I will bless you…" the beautiful woman mumbled. There was not a hint of hatred in her eyes, only calmness. As she spoke, she opened her mouth and breathed out a puff of air towards the recovering Su Ming.

That puff of air was white, and looked like fog. It landed on Su Ming's face slowly and crawled into his body through his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. The instant it crawled into the body, the Candle Dragon's gigantic body started rapidly decaying, and as it began rotting, a large amount of white fog gushed out and charged towards Su Ming as if he was a vortex that was absorbing this life force swiftly into him.

"I will hand my will and my legacy as a gift for my kind, and I will give to you what remains of my power, along with the power of the one World that remains after I used ninety-six worlds to build the Undying and Imperishable World… How much you will be able to take in depends on your serendipity."

Once she said those words, the beautiful woman closed her eyes. The vortex at the center of her brows spun faster with each passing moment. A black thread could be seen vaguely inside it, and the rotating black thread was the reason behind the vortex spinning!

As the life force and white fog that came from the crumbling Candle Dragon's gigantic body surged into Su Ming's body incessantly, he instantly recovered. He also clearly felt a huge wave of aura crashing into his body from all directions.

That aura and life force came too swiftly and violently, causing Su Ming to immediately feel that his body was going to swell up and explode if he reacted a bit too slowly.

'This is the accumulation of the Candle Dragon's power through its whole life! It might be dead and there is less than a tenth of the original power of when it was still alive, but the moment its body disappeared, the full force of that power burst forth… This is… the sort of great serendipity that would only happen once in a lifetime!'

Su Ming did not hesitate, and neither could he hesitate. If he did not absorb that power, his body would immediately fall apart.

The forceful injection of power came too violently, causing Su Ming to not have time to think. The Berserker Bones in his body instantly started absorbing that power madly.

There were seven Berserker Bones within Su Ming's body. The Wind Crystal of Inheritance had turned into one of his Berserker Bones, and the Lightning Crystal of Inheritance had also turned into a Berserker Bone. However, as the powerful wave of aura and life force surged into his body, the eighth vertebrae on Su Ming's back almost instantly started shining with golden light!

The instant golden light shone through Su Ming's body, the eighth Berserker Bone was formed within him!

But this was far from over. Less than ten breaths since the eighth Berserker Bone formed, banging sounds came from Su Ming's body. Pain filled his face, and dazzling golden light shone from his back. The ninth Berserker Bone manifested!

After the span of a hundred breaths passed, and as Su Ming let out a low growl through gritted teeth, his body shivered. The powerful aura and life force was surging into his body too quickly, almost as if they wanted to rush into his body all in one ago, and he was slightly lacking in the speed required to absorb that force. As sharp pain coursed through him, the tenth Berserker Bone materialized on his spine!

If he told anyone about this sort of rapid improvement in power, he would definitely stir up a wave of shock, a commotion. After all, it was common knowledge that it was incredibly difficult to train in the Berserkers' Bone Sacrifice Realm, and since the final Realm for Berserkers was the Berserker Soul Realm, those who had reached the Bone Sacrifice Realm could already be considered as powerful warriors. They were people who were the backbone of a clan's fighting force, and the strongest power in a middle-sized tribe!

However, the Candle Dragon had turned its body into a blessing for him before its will perished, and it had turned the impossible into possible. It gave Su Ming a huge serendipity that perhaps even Di Tian had not seen coming!

The source of it all was Hong Luo! His sudden appearance, it caused Di Tian to lose control over his plans for Su Ming. Since his clone was destroyed, it caused Su Ming to temporarily be free of his predetermined fate, allowing everything to deviate from its original course during the entire process Su Ming ran free from his reign!

A large amount of sweat beaded on Su Ming's forehead. The feeling as if his body was about to explode grew stronger. As the ten Berserker Bones in his body absorbed the power with a maddened frenzy, he gathered up that power and landed a powerful blow against the eleventh Berserker Bone.

Like a furious wave crashing into a frail barrier, the golden light in his body shone more brilliantly under that impact, and his eleventh Berserker Bone took form straight away!

But this was just the beginning. About the time taken for half an incense stick to burn later, as Su Ming's spine continued absorbing the life force and aura that was forcefully injected into his body, golden light erupted forth from his twelfth Berserker Bone!

'Since this is a serendipitous event, then I might as well just let myself go and absorb. I'd like to see just how far I can go with this serendipity helping me!'

Su Ming formed a seal with his hands, then let loose of all his inhibitions to absorb the life force and aura. His thirteenth Berserker Bone gathered together swiftly.

The power from the thirteen Berserker Bones allowed Su Ming to absorb the Candle Dragon's life force at a much faster pace. As time passed and as he trembled even more furiously, the fourteenth Berserker Bone manifested on his spine, the spine that made him belong to the Berserkers!

Fourteen Berserker Bones! An amount that was twice more than what Su Ming had previously!

Yet even more so, the life force and aura that was surging into his body was still coming in as swiftly and violently as ever. It did not show any signs of diminishing. Instead, more came in.

When his fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth Berserker Bones started shining with a brilliant golden light in succession, even Su Ming found himself in shock at the rapid rise of his power. However, he could not spare even a single thought to all of these things. If he did not boost his power, then his body would fall apart and explode.

With gritted teeth, all seventeen of his Berserker Bones started madly absorbing the force. He could not spare even a single bit of his attention to worry about this right then, he had to absorb it, had to use the newly formed Berserker Bones to contain that vast amount of life force.

The eighteenth Berserker Bone took form with a bang a moment later. The total amount of power that Su Ming needed to absorb for this Berserker Bone to appear was much more than what he needed to activate the other Berserker Bones. If he had been training normally, it would be incredibly difficult for him to activate this eighteenth Berserker Bone.

Once it appeared, the nineteenth Berserker Bone almost activated itself at the same time as its predecessor. At that moment, the golden light shining from Su Ming's body practically illuminated the entire area. Even his hair looked as if it had completely turned gold.

Veins popped up on his face, and he began trembling even more violently. A large amount of black liquid was also forced out of his skin, and as it was forced out, he could distinctly feel his body becoming much lighter than before.

At the same time, the twentieth Berserker Bone formed with a bang!

When it appeared, Su Ming felt as if his body was about to be torn apart. He gritted his teeth and endured that pain, turning all of it into a force to guide the life force and aura that was still endlessly surging into his body to rush against more Berserker Bones!

The twenty-first Berserker Bone formed some time later!

The twenty-second and twenty-third!

Powerful Berserkers in the Bone Sacrifice Realm could at most create twenty-six Berserker Bones, and the moment the last formed, he or she must breakthrough into the Berserker Soul Realm. There was only one chance, and life and death was decided within an instant.

If that person succeeded, then he or she would step into the Berserker Soul Realm and become a powerful warrior in the Berserker Soul Realm with one fell swoop. They would join the people who trained in the final Realm within the cultivation method practiced by Berserkers!

If… that person failed trying to reach the Berserker Soul Realm, then all the Berserker Bones in their body would explode, their life force would fade away, and everything about that person, including his body, would die!

A wave of fear gradually washed over Su Ming's heart, because he realized that if he continued increasing his power at this speed, then before long, he would manifest all twenty-six Berserker Bones!

He still had not completed his preparations! He still had not found the Nine Abyss Flower!

Chapter 478: Blessing or Curse?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

More importantly, Su Ming had always been deeply skeptical about this so called Candle Dragon's blessing!

To him, the Candle Dragon was a living being filled with wisdom and resolution. This was a living being that would still remain prideful even though it had died and only had a shred of its will left.

Perhaps it scoffed at the idea of lying and perhaps this was truly a blessing, but there was only a line between blessings and curses. It was like an empty bottle. Once it was filled with enough water, it would be full, but once someone pumped in an amount of water that was more than the bottle could take, then it might very well burst apart.

This explosion was not a blessing but another type of curse!

'If you can withstand my serendipity, then I will give you my remaining life force and the power of the one World to bless your growth so that you will have the right to become the master of my descendant!

'But if you can't withstand it, then you have no right to become the master of my descendant. No matter what, a descendant of the Candle Dragon that doesn't have a master is still better than one having to become someone's servant.'

Perhaps this was the Candle Dragon's true thoughts!

Life and death would be decided within an instant, and all of it depended on Su Ming's choice! It was a blessing, a curse, and also… a test!

A glint appeared in his eyes. He looked at the woman's rapidly decaying head and at the spinning black thread at the center of its brows. That black thread became clearer and looked as if it was about to shoot out of the center of the woman's brows at any moment. That black thread was the small snake!

'This power came too suddenly and I don't have time to completely stabilize it. If that's the case, then I'll be forced to try breaking into the Berserker Soul Realm in extreme haste. Without complete preparation… my chances of failure will be exponentially high!'

Su Ming knew that he had a large amount of Crimson Stones in his storage bag, but none of them contained the Nine Abyss Flower, or else he would have cut that stone open a long time ago. He was in a perilous situation, akin to being forced to move quickly on a suspended rope, and at that moment, the twenty-fourth Berserker Bone formed within his body!

'Should I try breaking through, or should I not..?'

Su Ming struggled. However, there was just simply no way for him to dispel the life force and aura that was incessantly surging into his body. As his Berserker Bones increased and the power surged within him, Su Ming could clearly just how strong he had become.

It was a strength that was much greater than what he possessed previously. However, along with that sense of power came a feeling of death. Once he reached twenty-six Berserker Bones, he would have to risk it all in a gamble, and his life would be decided in an instant!

As he watched his twenty-fifth Berserker Bone start to glow with a faint golden light as the Candle Dragon's aura and life force surged into it, Su Ming gritted his teeth. The Nascent Soul in his body instantly opened its eyes, formed a seal with both its hands in his Dantian region, and sucked in a deep breath.

This was the only way Su Ming could think of at the moment to slow down the process. However, it was also clear to him that he could not use this method for long. When the Nascent Soul became unable to absorb anymore of the Candle Dragon's life force and aura, then he would be forced to make a difficult choice.

As the Nascent Soul absorbed the life force and aura, these forces of power surging into Su Ming's body changed direction, and a large portion of them charged towards the Nascent Soul. In an instant, they surrounded it.

The Nascent Soul continuously formed seals with his hands in accordance to the Immortals' cultivation method which Hong Luo had left. After a moment, the Nascent Soul grew to twice its original size, and pain appeared on its face. This sort of forceful increase of power was a serendipitous event, but it also meant danger and pain.

Once Su Ming's Nascent Soul swelled up, its level of cultivation immediately shot through the early Nascent Soul stage to the mid Nascent Soul stage, and it was still increasing. Time was flowing by swiftly, and before long, when Su Ming's Nascent Soul swelled up and grew twice its previous size once again, extreme pain and suffering appeared on its face, and Su Ming's expression also became the same.

He had a feeling as if his Nascent Soul was about to explode. A bang went off in his head, and the Nascent Soul let out a roar in his body. Immediately, its insides turned murky and its power climbed straight up to the late Nascent Soul stage from the mid stage!

However, the power that was surging into Su Ming's body did not diminish by even a single bit. Instead, it just became even greater, making it seem like if it did not cause him to burst apart, it would not stop!

Fine blood capillaries had already appeared on his body, and tiny cracks had also appeared on his Nascent Soul. At that moment, it looked just like a bottle that was about to fall apart!

As the Nascent Soul absorbed that power once again, almost the instant it reached the late stage, it climbed straight into the Great Circle of Nascent Soul! Just one more step, and it would reach Soul Formation!

Once it reached Soul Formation, then the Nascent Soul would be as powerful as a Latter Shaman and a Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm!

'To reach the Immortals' Soul Formation stage I will need to understand their Domains. These Domains are really mysterious and I don't really understand them… but I'll have to get to that stage no matter what!'

Su Ming gritted his teeth and looked as if he was ready to risk everything. At this point, when his life and death could be decided in an instant, he found himself actually not being bothered by death any longer. Since this was the Candle Dragon's blessing and also its test, then he might as well not be worried about anything else!

The moment this thought appeared in Su Ming's mind, his Nascent Soul opened its mouth wide, and a savage look appeared on its face.

'Candle Dragon, let's see just how much of your blessing I can take in!'

The Nascent Soul opened its mouth wide and began sucking madly. All the life force and aura surging into Su Ming's body rushed straight towards it, and as they were continuously pumped into it, it grew at a rapid pace, eventually growing to be almost the exact same size as Su Ming!

'Soul Formation… Soul Formation… I still haven't come to understand Domains, but I do understand the fusion between the past and the future, and I found the point between the past and the future. If we're talking about Domains, then my Domain is destiny!

'Everyone has their own destiny, and living beings all have to end up being reincarnated!'

As the aura and life force continuously surged into the Nascent Soul, it swelled up even more, and eventually, it let out a low growl and exploded. Right then, a bang went off in Su Ming's head.

His mind became clouded. He seemed to have seen his Nascent Soul's metamorphosis, and a new life was born. It could no longer be called a Nascent Soul, but a Nascent Divinity!

The Nascent Divinity was like a shadow, but also a physical entity, it seemed to be corporeal, but an illusion at the same time. Su Ming sensed a wave of ripples coming from his Nascent Divinity, and it was a will that screamed that if this Nascent Divinity did not perish, then his soul would not die.

The Nascent Divinity was just born, and Su Ming could sense just how frail it was. At this point, it needed time to nurse itself back to health. If it absorbed anymore of the Candle Dragon's aura, then it would immediately disintegrate because it could not endure it.

The Candle Dragon's aura and life force was about to charge into the Nascent Divinity. Su Ming opened his eyes, formed a seal with his right hand, then pointed before himself. Right when the Candle Dragon's power closed in on the Nascent Divinity, it floated out of Su Ming's body and gathered before him.

'The Immortals that have formed Nascent Divinities say that as long as their Nascent Divinities don't perish, their spirits won't die. Since I have a Nascent Divinity now, then even if my body falls apart because of the Candle Dragon's power, I can use my Nascent Divinity to Possess someone else!'

Su Ming gritted his teeth, and the moment his Nascent Divinity left his body, the Candle Dragon's power rushed straight towards his Berserker Bones.

In an instant, a powerful golden light erupted forth from Su Ming's twenty-fifth Berserker Bone. At that moment, his entire spine looked as if it was sparkling with golden light, and even his body had turned the color of gold.

Twenty-five Berserker Bones were the pinnacle of the Bone Sacrifice Realm. There were quite a number of powerful Berserkers who had arrived at this state and would not continue with their practice because they did not have the confidence to handle the life and death situation when their twenty-sixth Berserker Bone appeared! If Su Ming could choose, he would definitely only try taking that risk when he had plenty of confidence that he would succeed, but right then, he had no choice!

His eyes were blood-red. The instant resolution colored his eyes, all twenty-five of his Berserker Bones started absorbing all the Candle Dragon's power surging into his body simultaneously to create… that twenty-sixth bone!

After the time taken for an incense stick to burn, the twenty-sixth Berserker Bone formed, and right at that instant, a brilliant light that even those outside the Candle Dragon's body could see erupted from Su Ming's entire spine. As the light merged together, it looked as if it wanted to form a shape behind Su Ming's body, and that shape… was naturally the thing that all powerful Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm would possess - their very own statue of the God of Berserkers!

A feeling as if his soul was about to be absorbed by that statue appeared, causing Su Ming's mind to become clouded, and in the midst of that fuzziness, his head became empty.

However, almost right after the shape appeared, it started to look as if it could not maintain its form after a few flickers. It lasted for the span of several more breaths in an incredibly unstable state, and eventually, started breaking up before disintegrating with a bang.

The instant the shape fell apart, Su Ming instantly felt the portion of his mind that was absorbed being torn apart. That spine of his that was shining with that brilliant light shattered into pieces with a violent bang. As it shattered, blood trickled out of the corners of Su Ming's mouth.

The blood trickled out of his mouth only in the beginning, the next instant, it started gushing out. Blood gushed out of every single pore in his body at the same time, and his body instantaneously slumped down.

The shadow of death loomed over a wide area above Su Ming's head. His attempt to enter the Berserker Soul Realm failed!

The moment it failed, due to the shattering of the spine, Su Ming's flesh and blood instantly started showing signs of crumbling and disappearing into thin air. His life force was rapidly flowing away, and the spark of his life was swiftly growing dull.

However, right at the moment these signs showed up, due to the vast amount of life force and aura surging into Su Ming's body, his flesh and blood was not ripped apart. As the life force fused into it, Su Ming's own life force was swiftly replenished, and the shattered bits of his spine were also rapidly gathering together to merge into one.

"I can help you, but only once… Not all life forms can handle my blessing. The next time… if you still cannot endure through my blessing, then you are not fit to become the master of my descendent.

"If you still cannot handle the next wave of my blessing, then stay here and rot with me… If you can persevere through the time taken for an incense stick to burn, then the remaining power of that precious one World of mine will appear. If you can absorb it, then it will truly be your serendipity!"

The Candle Dragon's ancient voice echoed in Su Ming's mind. His spine gradually became whole and his life force was fully replenished. Besides the spine not shining with anymore golden light and that Su Ming would need to refine all his vertebrae once again, he did not suffer even the slightest bit of harm.

Even though all his Berserker Bones had shattered and were gone even after his spine was reformed, not only did Su Ming not feel that his power had diminished, but even had the feeling that it had become greater. However, he did not have time to think about this strange feeling, because as the life force and aura surged into his body, the first vertebrae on his spine started shining with a golden light once again.

Chapter 479: For What Reason Do All Manner of Living Practice Cultivation? For What Reason Do We Strive to Become Strong?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

You must break the old to form the new. This was a rule that never changed since ancient times!

This rule existed in many things, and as people slowly found this rule and made conclusions about it, they came up with this phrase.

With the Candle Dragon's blessing, Su Ming could be said to have gone through a strange change that no one had ever experienced before, and that change was this - failing after trying to break into the Berserker Soul Realm the moment he reached the pinnacle of the Bone Sacrifice Realm and not dying!

While this sort of thing had indeed happened a few times in Berserker history, but every single time it happened, these people would lose too much of their life force and would sink to become a mere mortal.

However, due to the Candle Dragon's blessing, even though Su Ming's Berserker Bones had shattered, his power remained. It was as if his Berserker Bones were no longer limited to just being on his spine but had spread from his spine to all over his body. That was why he remained as strong as ever.

This sort of thing had never happened before. Even the first God of Berserkers, who had created the entire constitution for the Berserkers' cultivation method, would never have expected this sort of situation happening!

Su Ming's shattered spine and twenty-six broken Berserker Bones turned into the power that belonged only to Berserkers in Su Ming's body and fused into all the other bones within him - his ribs, his skull, his arms, his hands, his pelvis, and all his other bones.

There was even one portion that fused into his flesh and blood before spreading through his entire body.

As the Candle Dragon's power surged into Su Ming, besides his new first Berserker Bone absorbing that power as it shone with a golden light once again, he could also clearly feel all his other bones and even his flesh and blood absorbing its power as well!

All the other people and Su Ming himself had previously only refined their spine when they reached the Bone Sacrifice Realm. However, at that moment… Su Ming realized in shock that if he continued this way, then he would not only be refining his spine, but would be refining… all his bones, including his flesh and blood!

The twenty-six Ancient Berserker Bones they refined in the Bone Sacrifice Realm was akin to them reverting their bodies to the same state as those of their ancestors. When these Berserker Bones appeared, the Berserkers could use them to obtain great power. However, if Su Ming turned all his bones into Berserker Bones, then his strength would be…

Su Ming sucked in a sharp breath. Just how terrifyingly powerful would he be if he turned all the bones within his body into Berserker Bones and even made his flesh and blood more tenacious after fusing it with the power of his Berserker Bones?

Su Ming did not have an answer for that. Perhaps even the first God of Berserkers did not have an answer to that when he created the constitution for the Bone Sacrifice Realm!

'But at the same time, if I really walk down this outrageous path, then the difficulty for me to reach the Berserker Soul Realm will be unimaginable. It's practically impossible for me to succeed…'

Su Ming understood this clearly. Just having twenty-six Berserker Bones to gather together to form the statue of the God of Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm was incredibly difficult. If he reverted all his bones in his body to the state that belonged to his ancestors, then the difficulty when he tried to reach the Berserker Soul Realm was as plain as day!

However, the progression of events did not allow Su Ming to hesitate. Either he would choose to continue trying to reach the Berserker Soul Realm, then using his Nascent Divinity to Possess someone else and retrain after his body fell apart when he failed to reach that Realm…

...or he could walk down this path that no one had ever taken before, and then think about how he would deal with reaching the Berserker Soul Realm later.

Besides these two paths, there was another road, and that was the path where he succeeded in reaching the Berserker Soul Realm! However, Su Ming knew that it was practically impossible for him to succeed in one go because he had yet to stabilize his power and there were plenty of parts in his power that remained unsteady due to this forceful surge of strength into his body. He could only succeed if he had some time to slowly harmonize that power and then move on to truly attain great completion in the Bone Sacrifice Realm.

Calmness gradually appeared in Su Ming's eyes. He sucked in a sharp breath and relaxed his mind fully to bear through the impact of the power crashing into him so that he could have all his bones and blood absorb it.

Very soon, all the bones in Su Ming's body began glowing with a faint golden light. The first ten bones in his spine were already flashing brilliantly in gold as well. A feeling of strength so great Su Ming had never felt it before emerged in his heart. This was a strength that completely surpassed those in the Bone Sacrifice Realm but was still a power that could be categorized within the Bone Sacrifice Realm!

As he absorbed that power and as his entire body began glowing with brilliant golden light, suddenly, the life force and aura that was forcefully surging into Su Ming's body froze. Once it froze, a wave of power that shocked Su Ming rushed into him with an intensity that could blast through the sky.

The time at that moment was precisely the instant after the time taken for an incense stick to burn!

This power was visible to the naked eye. It was a diamond-shaped crystal that was formed as the Candle Dragon's body disappeared. That crystal shone with a brilliant light and charged towards Su Ming's body. Then, with an indescribable speed and presence, it rushed to the center of Su Ming's brows, like a river of light that traveled through the passage of time.

The instant it touched, Su Ming shuddered violently. A sharp stab of pain came from the center of his brows, and the crystal shot through his forehead and branded itself deeply in his body.

Su Ming's head was thrown back violently, as if a huge impact had just rammed into him. Loud, booming sounds went off in his head. During that instant, he had already forgotten the dangers his body faced and had even forgotten everything else. All that was left in his head was a furious roar that surged into the sky. That roar seemed to be made by an innumerable amount of living souls at the same time. Su Ming saw in his muddled mind a world, and as a gigantic Candle Dragon floating in midair opened its mouth, a large part of that world started crumbling.

The crumbling world did not disappear, but instead continuously gathered together as it fell apart, along with all the living souls in those crumbled parts. No matter how hard they struggled, it was all in vain. The only thing they could do was to let out maddened roars filled with despair that echoed in the air. Gradually, that world turned into a diamond-shaped crystal that was swallowed by the Candle Dragon in one gulp.

'This is… Could this be the power of one World?!'

"This is the one World Plane remaining after I created the Undying and Imperishable World… It doesn't matter what sort of cultivation methods all these lives in the world choose, even if the names of their cultivation methods are different, in the end, all of them will end up practicing the power of the World Plane…" The Candle Dragon spoke with its unique ancient voice, and its words echoed in all directions.

Those words contained the accumulation of all its experiences and epiphanies gained in its life.

"You still can't master or understand the power of the World Plane as of yet. It won't let your power increase either, but it is my true blessing to you… Hold onto it, understand it, master it, and if you can do so, then when that day comes, you will discover the mysteries lying in the universe. You will find out that you can control everything!"

The Candle Dragon's voice spread out and echoed in Su Ming's heart and soul, causing him to still be able to hear the words clearly despite his muddled mind. It was just like a brand that was deeply printed onto his soul.

"Do you know for what reason do all manner of living practice cultivation? For what reason do we strive to become strong?" the Candle Dragon asked softly with its ancient voice.

Su Ming could not answer that question, and the Candle Dragon had not expected him to anyway.

"That is because we all have flaws within our bodies. Each race contains different flaws, and the root cause for cultivation is for us to mend those flaws… But it is not a simple task to mend all our flaws. Usually, over a countless number of years, only one or two living souls in a single race can be found capable of doing so.

"The methods each race use to discover their own flaws and set out to mend them are different, but in the end, we all need the power of the World Plane… Over the long years of my life, I had some form of contact with Immortals before. The constitution forming the Immortals' cultivation method is divided into three steps. The first step does not touch upon the power of the World Plane, but starting from the second step, they will go through this so called Nirvanic Rebirth. All the flaws in their bodies will be mended and they will obtain new life. At that time, they will be practicing the power of the World Plane [1].

"The third step is Hollow. It is the critical moment for one when trying to achieve perfection as there's fewer flaws within the body. If one can attain the ultimate completion, then he will have taken the fourth step. At that time, he will no longer have any flaws… and at that time, what he will pursue is the power of Plane Timelines!"

The Candle Dragon's voice gradually grew weaker. These epiphanies were the treasures of its life.

"It is the same for all races, just like the Deities who are similar to the Immortals. Amalgamation, Great Vehicle, Ascension, Great Overarching Golden Immortality [2], and all the other states are in the end, just to mend all the flaws in people's bodies.

"You are a Berserker, the name of the path you Berserkers pursue after the Berserker Soul Realm might be different, but in truth, you still use the power of the World Plane to mend your flaws, and as you have fewer flaws, you will become stronger, and in the end, you will reach perfection."

Once Su Ming finished hearing these words, his mind gradually grew clearer. A thunderstorm raged in his heart. All these theories were things that he had never heard before, and they were words that allowed him to suddenly see light, like a bolt of lightning had just flashed in his mind!

"We Candle Dragons will only be born through serendipitous events, but we still have flaws, and that flaw is that we don't have a cultivation method that has a constitution laid out for us. The only way for us to mend it is to devour other things.

"Because even I don't know what is the flaw of my people. It might be the Undying and Imperishable World, it might be the Nine-Headed Dragon. That is why I kept devouring other World Planes, because I wished that I could mend that flaw."

Su Ming stared at the beautiful woman's head in a daze. He remembered the fusions in the Undying and Imperishable World.

"I went to many places when I was alive. The universe is endless, and I have even gone to two of the four Great True Worlds… and met only five people who were perfect and had mastered the power of Plane Timelines. They are the ones who truly deserve the title of being powerful beings in this universe and among the four Great True Realms...

"In truth, the four Great True Realms have a uniform name to call these powerful beings that have arrived at this step. They are the Masters of Fate, Life, and Death. They control the cycles of the universe, and if they want something to be born, it will be born, if they want something to die, it will die...

"All the races have different names for this particular stage, but all of them just wish for… completion. In truth, there are still a few great Realms in this stage, but they say it is a mere legend." The beautiful woman's voice became weaker, but her words still echoed in Su Ming's mind.

"Now that you have obtained my power of the World Plane and have let my descendant acknowledge you as its master, my will shall soon disappear… Endure the final wisp of my life force, and once you make it through, you will be reborn. If you fail, you will die with me…"

The instant the woman said those words, she completely decomposed into ashes. The small snake shot out from the vortex at the center of her brows with a howl.

At the same time, an endless amount of fog spread around Su Ming from the Candle Dragon's gigantic head before charging towards him with a loud rumble.

As the Candle Dragon's head vanished, the starry sky was revealed right above. The nine moons were shining brightly up ahead while the tenth moon was rapidly disappearing from the sky!

Translator's Notes

1. Deities: The original word for them is 神仙 (shen xian), and the official translation is actually supposed to be Immortals, but since in this shared universe, the Immortals are referred to as 仙族 (xian zu), 神仙 will be referred to as Deities.

About their realms, honestly, I am the sort of person that will go with translations that are already around as much as possible to minimize confusion and to keep to consistency. So you have 合體 (he ti), which is Amalgamation, 大乘 (da cheng), which is Great Vehicle, 飛升 (fei sheng), which is Ascension, and 大羅金仙 (da luo jin xian), which is Great Overarching Golden Immortality. The stages are already in order as you see them.

Here is a disclaimer, besides Great Vehicle, all the other stages for the Deities were made up by me, because 合體 and 飛升 were a no-brainer, which meant to fuse together with something, and to go up to heaven respectively, and 大羅金仙 was supposed to be a name for a character, not a level of cultivation, so there was a need for a made up name for this.

GREAT VEHICLE, HOWEVER, is apparently the translated version of 大乘 in the Emergence of Daoism: Creation of Tradition, and in the Daoism Handbook, because it follows the idea of Mahayana, and it basically is the universal liberation from suffering for all beings.

2. World Plane and Plane Timeline: As far as I know, and as far as I remember, this World Plane (位界, wei jie) and Plane Timeline (位劫, wei jie) are only mentioned in PoT, while this first step up to fourth step is also mentioned in RI, but I might be wrong. World Plane means to control a world, Plane Timeline, based on the long *ss explanation of timelines in Soar to the White Sky, means to control that timeline.

Chapter 480: Walking Out!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The wave of power was the last of what remained of the Candle Dragon. As its gigantic body rapidly vanished, that wave of power charged towards Su Ming and surged into him from all over his body as if it wanted to stuff him up until he exploded.

If Su Ming's previous self, whose blood and bones had not gone through the mysterious change, came face to face with this power, then besides using all his power and attention to absorb that force, he would have no other way to deal with it. He would increase his Berserker Bones until eventually being forced to attempt breaking through into the Berserker Soul Realm once again,.

However, all of Su Ming's bones, flesh, and blood right then were like that of a newborn, and his body had a strong desire for the Candle Dragon's life force and aura. Like a bottomless pit, it began rapidly absorbing the power surging into him.

Rumbling sounds came from within Su Ming's body. As those sounds reverberated in the air, all his bones started swiftly turning gold. His blood, flesh, tendons, and everything else also slowly started gaining a faint golden glow as that power rushed into him!

A sacrifice of all of his bones. This change that had never happened to any of his ancestors and would perhaps not happen to anyone else in the future appeared on Su Ming's body under the Candle Dragon's blessing!

He could clearly sense his body becoming stronger and his power rising at an unimaginable pace. That sort feeling, as if he held the sun, moon, and stars in his hands, made Su Ming's hair move without wind, caused him to look as if he was a God of War, shining with golden light as he stood there!

His eyes were closed and his entire body sparkled gold. If there was anyone else in the place, then they would surely be shocked greatly when they saw Su Ming. The presence coming from his body was clearly that of a Berserker in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, but the presence was so great that it would give them a feeling that he was even more terrifying that those in the Berserker Soul Realm!

This was a paradox, but it was a feeling that truly existed!

As all of the Candle Dragon's remaining power finally entered Su Ming's body and as the Candle Dragon's gigantic body disappeared rapidly before his eyes, everything around Su Ming turned into ashes and scattered away. When the sky, the earth, and the heavens in the World of Nine Yin were revealed to him, Su Ming opened his eyes. A golden light flashed in his eyes, and that light seemed to pierce through air, through the world, turning into the most brilliant ray of light in the planet!

A light that could take someone's breath away, a light that could steal away people's souls!

Golden light covered Su Ming's entire body. He did not waste even a single bit of the Candle Dragon's power. Besides the portion used for the Soul Formation for his Nascent Soul, everything else had turned into power accumulating in his blood, flesh and bones!

Right at that moment, a sixth of all the bones in his body had turned into Berserker Bones, and it was the same for this flesh and blood!

The path he would take would be different from all Berserkers in the future. Even the first God of Berserkers had not walked on this path. This was a path that belonged only to Su Ming - his path of creation!

From the Undying and Imperishable Realm, Su Ming had gained an understanding regarding the fusion of the past and future. He had gained an epiphany regarding the fusion of binary opposites. His body had also taken form in this world that had never been seen before. He might look like a Berserker in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, but could he truly still be considered to be in the Bone Sacrifice Realm?!

Almost the instant Su Ming opened his eyes, the beautiful woman's head dissipated. The small snake rushed out with a hiss. It did not seem too different from before, but its eyes were burning brightly, and there seemed to be a vortex hidden in the depths of its eyes that could suck away the souls of all living people. If anyone looked into its eyes, they would think that their minds had gone blank.

When it saw that Su Ming was uninjured, the small snake gradually stopped hissing. It flew into midair, and pain along with resolution appeared on its face. At that moment, cracks tore through its body as if it was shedding its skin, and as those cracks emerged, the small snake started trembling nonstop and its body was slowly elongating.

Once the small snake, who had received the legacy of the Candle Dragons, saw that Su Ming was safe, it started going through the evolution that would happen after it received its inheritance - to become a true Candle Dragon!

As Su Ming looked at his snake, he could feel its resolve and determination. This shedding of skin was akin to a metamorphosis that would revert the snake back to its roots. It meant that what little blood of the Candle Dragons was in its body would completely burn up to fill the entire body so that it could turn into a true Candle Dragon!

With the help of the inheritance, the possibility of success for the small snake was incredibly high. The legacy was like a guiding path, like a lamp in the dark giving the small snake directions as it went through its metamorphosis.

"Perhaps I can help you!"

Su Ming lifted his right hand and patted his storage bag. Immediately, a brocade box flew out, and once it appeared, it rushed straight towards the small snake. During the process, the brocade box turned into ashes, and a purple shadow spread out from within.

That item was the thing he had bought in the auction hosted by Western Sea Clan near Freezing Sky Clan - Purple Harmony!

This was a strange item that could grant a sliver of a chance for ferocious beasts to revert to their roots. However, the risks were too great, and if they failed, then they would die!

This was why Su Ming had not dared to use it on the small snake previously. Now it had inherited the Candle Dragon's legacy, which was equivalent to it finding the correct path to revert to its roots, so the dangers of this Purple Harmony would naturally be taken away. It would only serve to help the small snake!

When the small snake saw the Purple Harmony, it's eyes shone with a brilliant light filled with excitement. With a hiss, it charged straight towards that purple light and swiftly fused with it.

As the small snake devoured and fused with that Purple Harmony, purple light filled the air. It was like a layer of fog, making it difficult for people to see what was inside. Su Ming stood in his place, and when a faint golden light appeared in his eyes, his gaze immediately penetrated through the purple light. He saw that the small snake's expression was no longer in pain, and its body was going through a metamorphosis.

Su Ming was slightly relieved and averted his gaze to look at his own body. He did not seem any different from before, but he could sense just how powerful he had become.

"With the clone and the Poison Corpse helping me, I could fight against Latter Shamans, who are equivalent to Berserkers in the initial stage of the Berserker Soul Realm… But now, I wonder just how far I can go without any help," Su Ming mumbled. He sucked in a deep breath and looked at his Nascent Divinity. It had its eyes closed and was floating in midair, still and unmoving.

As Su Ming looked at his own Nascent Divinity, he fell silent for a moment, then looked at his surroundings, and suddenly frowned.

He remembered that when he entered the Candle Dragon's gigantic body, due to force repelling everything it did not recognize, the crimson dragon was blocked outside and could not follow him in. The Poison Corpse in the Berserker Soul Realm was also left behind. Ji Yun Hai was also there, along with the old Spirit of Nine Yin.

However, the Candle Dragon's body had disappeared, and Su Ming could not find the crimson dragon, neither could he find the puppet and the Poison Corpse. The old spirit was also gone without a trace.

'Just how many years have gone by..?' Su Ming stayed silent. Just as he was about to avert his gaze, something suddenly caught his attention. He saw a dark light flashing at the spot in the distance where the Candle Dragon's body had disappeared.

The fog in this place had long since disappeared. The whole area looked empty, which made that dark light stand out like a sore thumb. When Su Ming saw that dark light, he seized at the air with his right hand. Immediately, that dark light charged towards him and floated before his body.

It was a snake's scale!

It was the Candle Dragon's scale, a scale that was left behind despite the fact that its body was destroyed! Su Ming looked at the scale, and gradually, a sparkle of surprise alighted in his eyes.

'The Candle Dragon looks like a python, so the scale it left behind after it disappeared…' A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and immediately, his Nascent Divinity opened its eyes while floating beside Su Ming. There was a brilliant light in its eyes, and with one move, it disappeared as if it had fused into air.

After a moment, four scales charged towards Su Ming from the spot where the Candle Dragon's body had disappeared. As they gathered with that one scale he had found previously, the five scales floated before him and shone with a strange, dark light.

Almost the instant those scales came towards Su Ming, the air beside him distorted and his Nascent Divinity appeared. Then, without a single pause, it went towards him and fused into his body.

"The last ingredient required for the Welcoming of Deities is the scale from a python's tail. I wonder if the Candle Dragon's scale has the same effects. If it does, then I'll be able to create the Welcoming of Deities," Su Ming mumbled under his breath.

He had first learned about the Welcoming of Deities in Dark Mountain, and so many years had passed since then. If he could use this scale, then he would have finally managed to gather all the ingredients for this pill.

Once Su Ming put away the scales, he sat down cross-legged, and as he waited for the small snake's metamorphosis, he spread his divine sense outward in all directions. However, his Nascent Soul had just gone through Soul Formation and needed some time to nurse itself back to health, which was why Su Ming did not spread his divine sense too wide. But, even if he had just spread out a small portion of his divine sense, all the things he could see within the area still left him in shock.

Gradually, Su Ming's expression changed. At times, there would be confusion on his face, and sometimes, there would be surprise, and at other times, he would seem pensive.

The world he saw with his divine sense was greatly different from what he remembered. He grew uncertain about just how many years had passed by in the world.

Since he could not spread his divine sense too far away, he could not sense the presence of the crimson dragon, the Poison Corpse in the Berserker Soul Realm, and the puppet. Eventually, a dark, cold look appeared on his face.

Ten days went by in the blink of an eye. During those ten days, Su Ming remained sitting in his spot. He had already retrieved his divine sense and had used the time to stabilize his power.

The small snake had also completed its metamorphosis during those ten days. With a cry that shook the skies, the purple light in midair disappeared, and what took form before Su Ming was a red snake that was an arm long and two fingers wide!

There was a bump on the snake's head, along with a crack at the center of its brows. That crack was the spot for its third eye, but it remained shut, and the snake did not open it.

There was a profound gaze in its eyes, and no matter where it looked, distortions would appear in the air around its eyes, as if those eyes were absorbing some faint, unknown power from the air itself.

There was a murderous aura in the small snake's hiss, but once it finished hissing, it turned towards Su Ming, and there was a dependent and gentle gaze in its eyes. It charged towards him and let out a delighted cry at his side, like a child playing before his parent.

Su Ming smiled softly as he looked at the small snake. After a long while, he lifted his head and looked at the sky.

"Let's go. We're leaving this place."