544 - 550
Chapter 544: A Family?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Almost the moment Su Ming stepped into the Rune, he spread his divine sense outward and saw everything else within Heaven Gate. He also managed to sense several powerful waves of ripples within this place.
He could not hide the aura of death coming from his body. It rose into the sky to turn into black fog. That black fog looked ferocious, as if it was an evil spirit that was moving to devour everything around it. Some fine wrinkles gradually appeared on Su Ming's originally youthful face, making him seem to have turned into a middle-aged man.
The nine people who were meditating while sitting on the nine stone pillars around him opened their eyes at the same time, and shock appeared on their faces. In an instant, their gazes fell on Su Ming, who stood at the center of the Rune.
The moment they saw him, all of them stood up.
"Who are you?! You are only asking for death if you trespass into Heaven Gate!"
Su Ming lifted his head. The moment he met the gazes of those nine people, three of them took a step forward and charged towards him. Before they even came close, divine abilities appeared in the air, and as all sorts of lights in various colors filled the space around Su Ming, they closed in on him in the blink of an eye.
Su Ming remained calm, but the killing intent in his eyes was as strong as ever. He took a step forward and instantly arrived before one of the three men. The moment he walked past that person, he had already tapped the center of his brows with his finger.
He moved too fast, so fast that before the people around him managed to see what was happening, the man who was tapped between his brows started shivering and his head exploded with a bang. With a warp, Su Ming rose to midair. Behind him was black fog, and above him was even more black fog, roaring as it spread outwards.
His appearance was akin to an apocalyptic storm raging in a serene world!
"I, the ninth summit's disciple, Su Ming, am here to ask all of you in Heaven Gate one question. Do you… know about the ninth summit's principles for blood?" he asked calmly, but his words sounded like thunder roaring, and his voice rumbled in the air within Heaven Gate.
That booming voice was deafening to the ears, and it even turned into an endless wave of echoes that spread to the entire area.
"You stole my Master's items, tortured my senior brother, and threatened the ninth summit's existence. Today, I, the ninth summit's disciple, Su Ming, will take my Master's place, and on behalf of my eldest senior brother and my second senior brother, I will make Heaven Gate pay!"
That last word exploded in the air, and during that instant, the eight people on the ground rushed out with gritted teeth, but the moment they charged forth, Su Ming lifted his right hand and seized in the direction downwards.
The ground trembled.
The eight people were all Berserkers in the Bone Sacrifice Realm. At that moment, their bodies stopped as if they had frozen up, and the Berserker Bones in their bones exploded with a bang at the same time, as if they could no longer bear with the pressure. Su Ming then clenched his fist, and as the bodies of the eight people broke down, wisps of white smoke seeped out of them, and Su Ming caught them in his hand.
The white ball of threads he held in his hand was the fusion of these eight people's life force and their cultivation base, but Su Ming did not know a way to absorb this strength. If he took it in forcefully, his body would start showing signs of instability.
That was why he would never absorb these white threads when killing in the past.
When he held this ball of life force, a glint appeared in his eyes, and at that moment, the whole Heaven Gate was shaken due to the change in the sky, the reverberating booms, and also Su Ming's words.
Long arcs shot up into the sky and charged towards him from all directions. These long arcs were all people from Heaven Gate. There were also people flying out from the nine floating palaces in the sky. Their numbers were dense, and at that moment, piercing howls shook the sky and earth as long arcs sliced through the air in this small world that belonged to Heaven Gate.
"Kill all and spare none of those who trespass into Heaven Gate!"
"How dare you trespass into Freezing Sky Heaven Gate?!"
"Ninth summit? Su Ming?"
The appearance of those long arcs was accompanied by furious shouts. Su Ming merely looked on as they closed in on him, and as he did so, he found that the weakest among these arcs were at the later stage of the Awakening Realm and most of them were in the Bone Sacrifice Realm. There were even three powerful Berserkers among them who were in the Berserker Soul Realm, and they were all closing in on him with dark expressions on their faces.
Su Ming remained calm and cast a glance at the ball of threads in his right hand. A flicker of light shone in his eyes, and he had all his divine sense spread out of his body. The shadow of his Nascent Divinity also appeared behind him, and when he appeared, he lifted his right hand and formed a seal. Once that seal was made, the Nascent Divinity immediately changed the shape of his hands, and in an instant, he formed nine different seals to form one complete.
"I grant you the crimson eyes of the night…" Su Ming said lightly, then waved his arm in the direction of the sky.
The moment he did so, his Nascent Divinity instantly turned a little dimmer, but his eyes remained as aloof and detached as ever.
When he waved his arm, two crimson lights appeared in the black fog formed by aura of death spreading out in the sky. Those two crimson lights were like shining stars. The instant they appeared, a powerful, mighty pressure swiftly spread out from within the black fog to cover the ground as it continued spreading outwards. All the long arcs that were surrounded by that pressure immediately found their bodies forcefully frozen in midair, and their expressions changed drastically!
"I grant you the violet lips of the sky…"
Su Ming's voice was soft, but it still managed to land in all the people's ears, causing their minds to shudder. The Nascent Divinity formed another nine seals with his right hand and pushed towards the ground.
The ground trembled furiously, and since this place was originally a fragmented dimension to begin with, no cracks tore through the ground when those tremors appeared, but ripples that looked like those when a stone was thrown into a lake spread out in an instant and started echoing in the area.
Rays of light began shining from those ripples. The ground turned transparent under that light, and almost in the blink of an eye… it disappeared right before all the people's eyes!
In its place was a brightly lit sky!
The earth had turned into the sky!
The execution of this divine ability caused Su Ming's Nascent Divinity to become dimmer. This was a Sealing Art that originally belonged to Hong Luo, and even though Su Ming could cast it, he could not bring it up to Hong Luo's level and seal End Shamans!
Yet even so, with Su Ming's current level of cultivation, when he executed the Sealing Art - Day and Night, he could seal… all those below the Berserker Soul Realm!
The entire land disappeared and turned into the sky, causing the long arcs that were charging towards him to be astonished by this change, and immediately, they discovered to their shock and terror that their bodies had been frozen. They could not even move a single inch!
At that moment, the Heaven Gate disciples that were closest to Su Ming were less than a thousand feet away from him, but that distance felt like a ravine separating heaven and earth. They could not cross it!
With one divine ability, he sealed heaven and earth. Su Ming remained as composed as ever as his Nascent Divinity returned to his side. To his front, his back, his left, his right, and everywhere around him were people numbering to nearly one thousand standing in midair. Their faces were pale and terror-stricken as they looked towards him.
At that moment, all the frozen Heaven Gate disciples and those who had not managed to fly out and had seemed to have disappeared but were actually blocked off from that space as if they were isolated in another dimension cast their gazes to Su Ming.
His words were still echoing in their heads as they looked at his face. The Heaven Gate disciples who had once seen him before started gradually associating his name with that one person from their memories all those years ago.
'Su Ming…'
'He's that person from the ninth summit! That Su Ming who fought against Sir Si Ma all those years ago!'
'That's why I said not to provoke the ninth summit! All the people there are lunatics!'
All sorts of thoughts rose in the people's hearts, but because their bodies were frozen to the point that even their breathing seemed to have halted, these words could only echo in their hearts. They could not give their thoughts voice.
Su Ming might have sealed these Heaven Gate disciples, but there were three powerful Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm among the long arcs. They only felt the air around them becoming heavy and sticky, but they could still move. However, none of them were the least bit happy that they could move. Terror crashed into their hearts like a tidal wave, and the three of them no longer moved forward, but chose to retreat.
This divine ability surpassed their imagination, and the terror of ninth summit from their memories returned to them in that instant!
Almost the moment these three people began retreating, Su Ming calmly took a step forward. His foot landed on thin air, but the three retreating Berserkers felt their hearts give a loud thump against their chests. It was as if Su Ming had just stepped on their hearts!
That one step looked normal, but the instant Su Ming's foot landed, the trio's retreating bodies immediately froze, and that momentary pause in their movements meant death!
Su Ming swiftly appeared before one of them, and clenching his right hand into a fist, he hurled a punch straight at the powerful Berserker's chest. That one punch immediately made this person cough up blood. As his body tumbled backwards, terror appeared on his face, and he let out a roar.
However, almost the moment he roared and blood poured out from every orifice of his body, Su Ming threw another punch. The instant he did so, that Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm who was a superior existence to the rest of the Heaven Gate disciples let out a piercing scream of pain and his body exploded and he turned into blood fog!
Before he died, he suffered pain that far surpassed what he could bear. Su Ming's first punch had crushed all his bones, turning them into an innumerable amount of bone spikes that tore through his heart and the passages of his Qi, but he remained alive. When the second punch landed, his blood started flowing in reverse. His body was like a sack filled with sharp needles, and if anyone struck him with a huge force, those needles would pierce through that sack, causing the powerful Berserker from Heaven Gate to be shredded by the crushed-bone spikes in his body, which meant he died a painful and horrible death!
Su Ming might be cold when he killed other people, but he was not the sort of person who would torture people until they died. He only did this because there was… a bone necklace around the person's neck which he then yanked away the instant the person died due to his second punch!
It was one of Tian Xie Zi's personal belongings!
With the bone necklace in hand, Su Ming turned his head around and looked towards the two other powerful Berserkers in the Berserker Soul Realm who were fleeing in shock. He took a step towards them.
"Master, save me!" One of the two people running away let out a scream in despair as his heart trembled in fear, because he saw Su Ming coming towards him.
The instant his screams for help echoed in the air, a voice came from the third palace that was floating in the sky in silence, and that voice was filled with wariness.
"Sir, you are a disciple of the ninth summit, and you are family to us in Heaven Gate…"
"Family?"
Su Ming laughed coldly.
Translator's Thoughts
Mogumoguchan Mogumoguchan
Preview to next chapter: Irreconcilable
SI MA XIN YOU TURD
Chapter 545: Irreconcilable
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Before the voice from the third palace could finish speaking, Su Ming let out a cold bark of laughter and appeared beside the person who had pleaded for help. He lifted his right hand to seize that Berserker, and since that person knew that all his divine abilities were useless, he roared, deciding to burn his cultivation base and self-destruct!
Yet the moment he prepared to self-destruct, Su Ming's right hand suddenly shone with violet light, and violet armor appeared to cover his entire right arm and hand. He pierced through the flames coming from this person's self-destruction and seized his throat.
"We're not family."
As Su Ming stated that flatly, he added strength to his grip, and with a bang, the powerful Berserker in his grasp was reduced to only flesh and blood. When he released his grip, the man's mangled body fell downwards, but a white bracelet flew out from his corpse into Su Ming's palm.
Su Ming cast a glance at the bracelet. He remembered that this item had also been placed in his Master's cave abode in the past.
When he held the bracelet, the killing intent in his heart burned even more furiously. He lifted his head and looked at the final Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm running away from him. He was a Clan Elder, and he was already close to the first palace. Su Ming took a step forward, but the moment he lifted his foot, an old man in white robes walked out from the third palace.
The old man looked at Su Ming with a complicated expression on his face. He had seen Su Ming before. At that time, he had been in the auction and had seen the young Berserker along with the Young Lord from the Great Tribe of Freezing Sky[1].
At that time, the Young Lord had wanted to win Su Ming over. Twenty years had passed by since then, and times had changed. When the old man saw Su Ming again, the shock he had made him unable to calm himself down even after such a long time had passed.
"Su Ming, you are a disciple of the ninth summit, why must you do this? You may be strong now, but don't forget who took you in when you were still weak. It was Freezing Sky Clan, it was…"
As the old man in white walked forward, he spoke darkly. His heart was in great shock. Su Ming's power, his strange divine abilities, and especially the scene where he sealed heaven and earth had made him incredibly wary.
This sort of person should have originally been part of Freezing Sky Clan, but now, he had become their enemy. It pained him to see this, and at the same time, he began sighing in his heart.
But before he could finish speaking, Su Ming lifted his head and looked towards him.
"It's the ninth summit that took me in!" he said calmly.
When his foot landed, he had already arrived next to the fleeing old Berserker in the Berserker Soul Realm. When shock and despair appeared on his face, a cold harrumph came from the first palace. Immediately, the door to that palace flew open with a bang, and a dark ray of light instantly flew out to charge towards Su Ming.
A power at the peak of the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm erupted from that dark light, and there was a small cauldron contained within it. That cauldron spun rapidly and charged towards Su Ming. A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and as he waved his arm, his medicinal cauldron manifested immediately to crash into that incoming cauldron with a loud bang.
As that bang echoed in the air, Su Ming took a step forward. When the Clan Elder began fleeing once again, Su Ming moved past him to stand on the platform to the first palace. The Clan Elder in the Berserker Soul Realm shivered, and banging sounds came from his body. When he coughed up blood, a small snake crawled out of his mouth and flew up while hissing. It looked at its surroundings with a cold, dark glare.
That small snake was, naturally, Su Ming's Candle Dragon!
Its eyes were cold and merciless. All of the living beings in this world were just food in its eyes… only when it looked towards Su Ming would gentleness appear in its eyes, and subservience would appear in its actions.
The instant Su Ming landed on the platform to the first palace, an old woman walked out from within. Sinister intent could be seen on her face. She held a cane with a dragon head in her hand, and when she slammed it on the ground, the dragon head started moving as if it had resuscitated, and started roaring towards Su Ming.
The old woman lifted her left hand at the same time, and there was a ring on her finger. When Su Ming it, the killing intent in his eyes started shining brilliantly.
That ring belonged to his Master!
The old woman bit the tip of her tongue and coughed up a mouthful of blood on the ring. That blood fused within it in an instant, and soon after, a low roar came inside, along with a layer of black fog. It then instantly turned into a big hand that went on to seize Su Ming.
The old man in white from the third palace also took a step forward right then and lifted his right hand. Immediately, the air before him started distorting. As thunder rumbled in the air, a long sword with lightning sparks on its blade appeared. It swept through the air, and immediately, the entire sky seemed to have turned into a lightning lake that had an endless supply of lightning, and along with that sword, it charged towards Su Ming.
A sigh traveled out of the second palace soon after, and it instantly turned into an illusion before disappearing, revealing a person surrounded by red fog sitting within. The person slowly stood up, and when he looked towards Su Ming, he took a step forward and turned into a layer of red fog before charging towards him!
These three people's level of cultivation was already extremely close to the later stage of the Berserker Soul Realm, but while they might be extremely close, that remaining distance might sometimes be a ravine that was incredibly difficult to breach, and in the end, they were still merely Berserkers in the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm!
There were nine Lords in Heaven Gate, and there were also nine Lords in the Great Plains! These three people were clearly the three of the nine Lords of Heaven Gate. Su Ming remembered that his Master had once mentioned that there was one Lord missing from Heaven Gate, and they only had eight Lords at the moment.
There were also missing Lords in the Great Plains.
"So this is the standard of the Lords in Heaven Gate. You are nothing," Su Ming said flatly. He might not have killed many of those in the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm, but there were also quite a number of those who had died in his hands!
The instant the trio's divine abilities closed in on him, an endless amount of fine violet threads seeped out of Su Ming's body. As he stood there, they surrounded him entirely, turning into the Undertaker's of Evil Armor!
When he lifted his right hand, the Undertaker's of Evil Spear manifested. The instant that long spear appeared, murderous aura surged into the sky and filled the entire place. A thick, bloody stench spread through the area.
That bloody stench formed a bloodthirsty aura that roiled as if there were numerous vengeful spirits within it,shrieking and howling, surrounding Su Ming's spear unable to escape. A large amount of these vengeful spirits were the savages from Scour Sieve Island!
The moment the Undertaker's of Evil Armor appeared, it would not disappear without tasting blood. The manifestation of that Armor meant that Su Ming's rampage was about to begin!
He swept the long spear across, and the instant those three people closed in, he turned into a violet shadow. As the aura of death spread out from his body, as the rolling black fog stretched out to fill the sky, as the pair of crimson eyes that looked like stars in the black fog started shining in a strange, enchanting light, the trio appeared right before him.
A loud bang that shook the sky and earth reverberated in the air, and as a powerful force spread out swiftly through the area, the old woman coughed up blood and was forced back several hundreds of feet. She coughed up blood once again, and shock along with disbelief appeared on her face.
"The later stage of the Berserker Soul Realm!"
She had been unable to determine Su Ming's level of cultivation previously, and while she might be wary of his strange divine abilities, in her mind, he was still only at the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm, even if he had received some sort of serendipity. After all, only twenty years had passed since the last time she saw him.
Yet now, after exchanging blows with him, she discovered to her shock that everything had surpassed her expectations.
Almost the moment she started tumbling backwards, the old man in white also fell back. He staggered a few hundred feet back and started bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Vicious coughs wrecked his body, and as he coughed, a red thread crawled out from his right hand before crawling back in within an instant. A red flush appeared on his face, and though he was in pain, his gaze locked on Su Ming became increasingly more complicated.
The person who had turned into red fog also fell back. The fog collapsed, but it gathered up once again to turn into a person whose head was filled with red but whose body looked like a statue. He stood there and looked at Su Ming quietly. He was apathetic, but there was conflict hidden underneath that apathetic expression.
The instant Su Ming saw that red-haired person, his pupils shrank.
"Zi Che!"
The red-haired person was clearly Zi Che! When he heard Su Ming's voice, the man immediately started trembling, and the conflict in his eyes became stronger!
But Zi Che had not even reached the Bone Sacrifice Realm when they had parted in the past, yet now, the power he showed was in the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm. This immediately put a frown between Su Ming's brows.
With just a glance, he could tell that something was wrong with Zi Che. His body was no longer made of flesh and blood, but was like a statue. He looked… just like a statue of the God of Berserkers!
At the same time, the wave of ripples that had spread out due to the crash between the four people just now had touched the other palaces around the area. The instant they touched them Su Ming immediately saw the remaining six palaces breaking down, and all of them shattered to dust.
Once they shattered… he found that there was no one in those six palaces!
That scene was filled with a strange air, causing the entire Heaven Gate to be filled with a strange atmosphere as well. However, Su Ming also immediately noticed the frozen Heaven Gate disciples around him looking shocked and confused when they found out that the remaining palaces were empty.
"Master, leave, this place is…"
At that moment, Zi Che suddenly started shouting loudly, but before he managed to finish his words, several red threads immediately crawled out of his eyes before crawling in once again. Frenzied killing intent appeared in his eyes once again.
"Since you're here, then why leave in such a hurry? Su Ming… I'll be waiting for you at the ninth layer. I hope… you will have the chance to come up here, and I will… kill you with my own hands!!"
A soft and dark voice abruptly came from the sky, and a vortex appeared in the portion of the sky that had yet to be filled by black fog. As that vortex spun, a vast expanse of land appeared.
"By the way, Bai Su is also here, and if you don't kill me within an hour, that senior brother of yours, Hu Zi, was it? He'll end up the same as Zi Che…
"Also, you have an old friend here, and he really wants to fight against you…
"Su Ming, I've been waiting for this day for too long. I've always been waiting for you to come back… I will make you suffer slowly, and I will return to you all the pain I had to endure by thousandfold. I… am the true God of Berserkers!" As that voice echoed in the air, a chilling air could be felt contained within it, and that voice… belonged to Si Ma Xin!
The moment that voice appeared, the Rune to leave Heaven Gate collapsed with a bang.
At the same time, the sleeping Hu Zi did not notice that the scars on his back had torn apart, and there were red threads crawling in and out of his back while he remained asleep on the ninth summit outside Heaven Gate…
This was something even Su Ming had not noticed before he left…
"The game has started. Su Ming, I look forward to this so much…"
Si Ma Xin's voice became even softer, making those who heard it to be unable to tell whether he was a man or a woman, but the hatred contained within towards Su Ming felt as if it had been engraved into his soul, and it was an irreconcilable hate!
Translator's Notes:
That Young Lord had also helped Su Ming with his payback during the auction, and also gave him the invitation to the secret auction.
Chapter 546: I'm Rich!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming lifted his head and gave a cold stare to the vortex in the portion of the sky that had yet to be covered by the black fog. Si Ma Xin's soft and dark voice echoed in his ears, and everything within that voice was an embodiment of the man's enmity and hatred.
He used Zi Che to tug at Su Ming's heartstrings, then used Bai Su to bring up his memories, and finally, he activated the threat lying within Hu Zi's body, and all of this had to be solved within a time limit of an hour.
Clearly, Si Ma Xin enjoyed the feeling of persecuting someone else, especially when his target was Su Ming!
He wanted to make Su Ming anxious, wanted to make him angry, wanted to make him charge towards him without care for anything else. He longed to see this exciting scene, and he desired to see Su Ming appearing before him while covered in wounds. Si Ma Xin then could finally take his revenge!
He had been preparing for this day for a long time! He might have lost to Su Ming the few times they fought and plotted against each other, but his understanding towards Su Ming had also increased. At the time, after he received his serendipity and walked out of Freezing Sky Cave, he swore that he would definitely kill Su Ming!
That was why he had set up such a large scale plan in Heaven Gate and waited for Su Ming's return while burning with hatred!
That day had finally arrived!
Su Ming remained silent, and the anger and furious roars Si Ma Xin wanted to see did not come from him. Instead, he only saw dead silence. Su Ming looked at the vortex in the sky calmly, then moved towards midair, but right at the moment he started charging towards the vortex, Zi Che, the old man in white, and the old woman recovered slightly. Then, in the midst of Zi Che's madness, the old man's complicated feelings, and the old woman's gritted teeth, the three people turned into long arcs and charged towards Su Ming to fight against him together!
"Su Ming, I'll be waiting for you in the ninth layer…"
Su Ming watched the three people rushing towards him while he stood in midair. A glint appeared in his eyes and he ignored the trio charging towards him. Instead, he threw the Undertaker's of Evil Spear straight into the vortex in the sky.
That violet long spear let out a loud whistle as it sliced through the air. That whistle fused with Si Ma Xin's voice, and the spear charged towards the vortex in the sky, looking like a long violet dragon from the distance.
Before Si Ma Xin managed to finish his sentence, the long spear containing Su Ming's power crashed into the sky with a huge bang. At the instant they came into contact with each other, the vortex stopped rotating. It froze for a moment, then let out a loud sound that surged into the sky.
Rumbling sounds like those of thunder roared in the sky, completely covering up Si Ma Xin's voice, causing the sky to begin cracking. The vortex was instantly torn to pieces, and a huge hole appeared in the sky!
Right behind that hole… was Heaven Gate's second layer!
Almost the instant that hole appeared, the black fog that was tumbling about and spreading to every corner of the torn sky in the first layer looked as if it had found a drain. It surged towards that hole, causing another vortex to appear in the sky. The black fog and clouds surged about up ahead, making it seem as if they were coalescing inside there.
It might still be a vortex, but this time, Su Ming was the one who had created it. This vortex cut off Si Ma Xin's voice, and was akin to a slap to his face. Su Ming might not have said anything, but he had used his actions to tell his decision!
"I've killed many people in my life… and today, I will kill even more. One of them, will be you."
The world roared, and the black fog tumbled about in the vortex. Su Ming's voice reverberated in the area calmly, fusing together with the thunderous roars and stirring up an endless string of echoes. They caused all those who heard them to be unable to tell whether it was Su Ming who was speaking or whether the world itself was howling.
Almost the moment the hole in the sky appeared, Zi Che and the other two people closed in on Su Ming. These three people each possessed the combat abilities of a Berserker in the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm, and when they attacked, they stirred up an incredibly mighty presence. Zi Che turned into a layer of red fog, and wherever he passed through, a little of everything around him, including the air itself, would seem as if it was devoured, as if it started decaying.
The old man in white formed a seal with both his hands, and the air before and behind him started distorting to reveal two statues of the God of Berserkers. However, one of them was holding onto a jewel-encrusted purification vase [1].
Everything about that statue besides that vase looked like an illusion and was rather indistinct. However, the other statue looked as if it was real!
The old woman's messy hair began growing swiftly at that moment, but they did not spread outwards as they charged towards Su Ming. Instead, as they floated into the air, they broke off in the middle and turned into an endless amount of hair strands that rushed towards Su Ming.
He remained silent and took a step towards the old woman. At that instant, his body immediately came into contact with the strands of hair, but the instant they touched him, his eyes sparkled, and bell chimes reverberated in the air. Han Mountain Bell manifested itself and surrounded him to bear the brunt of the hair's impact. During that moment, Su Ming appeared before the old woman.
The old woman let out a piercing screech. When she started retreating, Su Ming suddenly lifted his right hand and seized the air in her direction. The power of the binary opposites that Su Ming had gained from his epiphany was contained within his grip, causing the old woman to immediately freeze as she retreated. Cracking sounds reverberated in her body, and just as she was about to explode, she bit the tip of her tongue. Once she coughed up a mouthful of blood, cracks started appearing on her skin.
At the same moment her skin started cracking, she let out a roar. Her skin burst open, but her body did not break down. The only thing that broke was her skin, and the instant the cracked skin exploded, she resisted Su Ming's divine ability. As she tumbled backwards, her appearance became much more youthful, but her face was pale. She looked terrified, and a large amount of blood flowed out of her mouth.
But before she managed to retreat any further away and Zi Che and the old man in white closed in on Su Ming with their divine abilities, he let out a cold harrumph and took a step forward again. In an instant, his speed reached a state where he could no longer be seen with the naked eye. He traveled a few rounds around the old woman like a gust of wind, and a whirlwind abruptly appeared. That whirlwind spun around the old woman several times before it disappeared, and Su Ming emerged beside her. He no longer bothered himself with her though, instead lifting his head and casting a chilling glare at the old man in white.
The old woman started shivering. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but all her flesh and blood looked as if they had been cut off by blades and were falling off from her body slice by slice until only her skeleton was left. Then, she fell to the ground...
...Dead.
Killing a Berserker in the middle stage of the Berserker Soul Realm was not difficult for Su Ming, especially when he wore the Undertaker's of Evil Armor!
Before the old woman's skeleton fell to the ground, multiple cracks appeared on her bones, and eighteen red threads that were the size of fingers crawled out of her bones. As those threads twisted about, they turned into blood and died.
When Su Ming turned his gaze towards the old man in white, struggle appeared on his face, but he did not slow down, especially the statue holding the jewel-encrusted purification vase before him. As it took a step forward, it became the first thing to close in on Su Ming. It lifted the vase in its hands and covered him.
Immediately, a great suction force surged towards Su Ming. At the same time, the statue of the God of Berserkers behind the old man in white closed in on him. When it lifted its right hand, a long whip manifested, and as it swung that whip, a loud crack sliced through the air and charged towards Su Ming.
The old man in white gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. His robes puffed up, and a blood hole appeared at the center of his brows. A red thread about the size of an infant's arm crawled out from it.
"Nan, Mo, Di, La, Zhen!" The moment the old man in white closed his eyes, a few difficult sounding words that were filled with an ancient air tumbled out of his lips.
The instant those words were said, the statue holding the vase started disappearing rapidly to fuse with the vase, which caused suction force inside it to instantly increase explosively.
Even Su Ming started swaying because of it, as if he could not stay in balance. At that moment, before that statue with the whip managed to strike a blow at Su Ming, its body abruptly exploded. That was the self-destruction of a statue of the God of Berserkers!
The instant it exploded, a great force of impact spread out, and for some unknown reason, the suction force from the vase increased once again, and this time, the power of the vase had increased by leaps and bounds!
As the five words traveled through the air, the old man in white was reduced to only skin and bones in the blink of an eye. He had given up his life when casting this divine ability!
All of these things caused the suction force in the vase to reach infinite power, forcing Su Ming's body to turn into a long arc before he was sucked into the vase.
The old man opened his eyes. The red thread at the center of his brows had gained an even more brilliant shade and was twisting its body around, but the old man seemed to have already gotten used to it. He lifted his right hand and seized the vase. At the moment his hand touched it, he activated… the words he had left in the vase a long time ago to pave his way to survival, all without anyone's knowledge, including that red thread's.
"Save me…" That was the first thing Su Ming heard when he was sucked into the vase.
At that moment, all the people's gazes were trained towards the battle in the sky. No one had noticed a black shadow crawling out of the Rune Su Ming had used to travel to this place the instant it broke down. That black shadow hid in a corner and would occasionally sneak a peek from its hiding place. It looked incredibly dirty, and that creature… was naturally the bald crane…
'I'm going to be rich! I'm going to be so rich!'
When the bald crane appeared, excitement and exhilaration took over its face. The bird vanished swiftly, and when it reappeared, it had arrived beside the Heaven Gate disciple who had been located nearest to its hiding spot moments ago, and who was unable to move at the moment. He was looking at the sky in shock.
The bald crane blinked, then it immediately closed in on the disciple and touched him with its beak. It even swept its eyes through the disciple's entire body with a professional gaze before tearing apart his robes. That Heaven Gate disciple's mouth fell open in shock and surprise, and before he could register what was happening, the bald crane… snatched the necklace on his neck, and like a gust of wind, it flew towards the next person.
'I'm going to be so rich! So rich! Ha ha! I'm going to be so rich this time! All of these people are just sitting ducks when they're in this state. The little Berserker brat won't know what I'm doing either, since he's sucked into that vase. I'm going to be so rich this time!'
The Heaven Gate disciple widened his eyes, and he looked as if he wanted to scream in rage, as if he wanted to struggle, but his body was frozen to the spot and he could not move. He could only watch the bald crane sashaying away while leaving sneakily. Anger raged in the man's heart, burning away his rationale, and in his fury and gloom, blood trickled down the corners of his lips. Red even appeared in his eyes due to his rage.
If he could move at this moment, he would definitely swear to kill that damn, thieving bald crane!
This sort of thought… would gain in number very soon as the bald crane continued sweeping through the crowd...
Translator's Notes:
1. Jewel-encrusted purification vase: 宝瓶 (bao3 ping2), one of the eight 净瓶 (jing4 ping2) in Buddhism, known as clean vase/purification vase, used for purification, training, and meditation purposes. It looks like this:
Chapter 547: Shepherd Tower Tribe
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Save me… The only person whom I would risk everything to bring into Freezing Sky's priceless treasure... can only be you, Su Ming!
"Su Ming, I am Heaven Gate's third Lord. A huge, disastrous change happened to Heaven Gate during the calamity, and besides me, the only Lords who did not die from the disaster were the virtuous old woman and Bai Su's father, whom you are familiar with. All the other Lords died...
"The source of the disaster is Si Ma Xin!
"I have no idea what sort of serendipity he obtained, but his Great Art of Heartless Berserker Seed has nearly reached completion. I can't judge his level of cultivation either. It's as if there's no end to his power, and all of us from Heaven Gate are not his opponents…
"He has planted his vein in me and in some other people as well. We can only listen to him, and we can't even determine how we live or die… The entire Heaven Gate is under his control.
"The cultivation method I practice is a little unique, and because of it, I can escape from his control for a short period of time, that's why I managed to leave my words in this vase. The reason behind the ninth summit's continued existence is not because of Si Ma Xin. I was the one who told him that if the ninth summit still remained, you would definitely be lured back.
"I had no choice but to do this, but no matter what, I helped your Master and all of you protect the ninth summit...
"If you didn't have enough power, you wouldn't be able to enter the vase either. If you can come in here, then it means that the me many years later has judged that you are up to this task…
"There are nine layers to Heaven Gate. Besides the first and the ninth layers, the other seven layers are inhabited by the other tribes around the area, but all of those tribes have become Si Ma Xin's subordinates...
"If you kill Si Ma Xin, then we will… acknowledge the ninth summit as our esteemed sovereign!
"Leaving this vase is easy. You just need to say these five words in a chant - Nan, Na, Di, La, Hong, and you will be able to leave. When you do, please strike the passages of my Qi and make them scatter. Then, if you succeed, I will find a way to awaken, but if you fail, I will die, and at the very least, it will be a fate better than what I have to suffer now…"
The area around Su Ming was murky, and he could not see too clearly into the distance. He could only see wisps of fog manifesting and moving around him. If he looked at it for an extended period of time, he would be unable to help himself and his body would start spinning with the fog.
The voice of the old man in white echoed in Su Ming's ears. That voice should have been sealed in this vase for a long time, and it was clear that the old man had prepared these words some time ago, just as he said.
In silence, Su Ming recalled seeing the red thread at the center of the old man's brows. He also remembered Zi Che's strange appearance and attitude, as well as the dozen something fine threads that had crawled out of the old woman's bones.
All of these things were an enigma, causing Su Ming to begin doubting the old man's words.
'Should I believe him, or should I not…?' Su Ming lifted his head, and a chilling glare appeared in his eyes.
'I can choose to believe in what he said about Si Ma Xin, but I will not use the method he provided to leave this place. I will choose how I want to leave!'
As the bald crane was happily looting in the first layer, the old man in white held the vase in his hands in the sky with a slightly excited look on his face. Suddenly, he widened his eyes. Right before his eyes, fine cracks appeared on his vase, and muffled booming sounds also traveled into the air from within it.
The instant he was taken aback by the sight, the vase exploded abruptly. Loud, booming sounds stirred up a string of echoes that did not fade away even after a long time had passed. The moment the vase shattered, a hand shot out from within its remnants and seized the old man's throat. With a gentle push, a huge force rammed itself into his body, scattering all the passages of Qi within him.
The old man coughed up a mouthful of blood, and as his body fell backwards, his world turned black. However, there was a hint of eagerness and excitement hidden deep down in his eyes. As his body fell downwards, that expression gradually faded away, which was why he did not notice a pair of greedy eyes with a similar look of eagerness and excitement shining within them flying towards him swiftly.
Most of the black fog in the sky had surged into the crack, and the booming sounds continued echoing in the air. There was only one person remaining before Su Ming, and that person was Zi Che...
He turned into red fog. As he charged towards Su Ming, his face would occasionally appear within the fog, showing a crazed expression as well as a pair of struggling eyes containing a hint of pain and madness.
"You are a member of the ninth summit…" Su Ming looked at Zi Che and mumbled softly. He could not kill Zi Che, not like how he killed the others, because it was just as he said, Zi Che belonged to the ninth summit!
Almost the moment he turned into red fog and closed in, a hint of grief appeared on Su Ming's face. The air before him suddenly distorted, and the small snake flew out. Its expression was no longer dark and cold as it opened its mouth towards the incoming Zi Che, then calmly let out a howl.
The Candle Dragon's gigantic shadow immediately manifested in the form of an illusion as it howled. The moment Zi Che closed in, it snapped its jaws around Zi Che, and it was as if a small part of the world was devoured when it closed its mouth. The red fog could not escape from it, and Zi Che was completely devoured by the small snake.
But that did not mean Zi Che had died. The world contained within the Candle Dragon's body could keep him within, and he could wait in there… until the moment Su Ming killed Si Ma Xin arrived. The seal formed by the Berserker Seed in his body would also be broken by then.
Su Ming lifted his head and looked towards the black fog surging into the hole in the sky. In silence, he leaped up and charged straight up there. Then, as if he had fused together with the tumbling aura of death's fog, he rushed into the hole and arrived in Heaven Gate's second layer!
The instant he left Heaven Gate's first layer, the bald crane who had been searching through the old man in white whose passages of Qi had been scattered and whose fate was unknown suddenly heard Su Ming's cold and detached voice in its head, all while it was originally shivering in excitement as it searched for the things it believed to be treasures with its 'professional' methods.
"You can loot as you please, but since you can come in, then you must have a way to get out. Go out and take care of my senior brother, or else I will take away all the things you stole.
"If you do this properly, then I will consider allowing you to follow behind me and continue with your looting adventures."
When the bald crane heard the first half of Su Ming's second sentence, it decided to disobey his orders while scoffing with disdain in its heart, but the moment it heard the second half of the sentence, it was momentarily stunned. Then, it started screaming shrilly. As it swept away all the remaining valuables in the place, it immediately crawled into the collapsed Rune while all the Heaven Gate's disciples in the first layer burned with fury and murderous intent that seared the skies. Then, after casting some unknown skill, it disappeared without a trace.
'No one can take away my treasures, no one! But if I continue staying by his side, I'll get even more treasures…'
In the Land of South Morning, the bald crane's body appeared in the air above the ninth summit. It lifted its claws and stroked its chin, then after it made some calculations, its eyes began shining brilliantly, and with excitement brimming through its body, it flew towards the ninth summit.
"Off to work! As long as I can have treasures, I will work!
"I'm a bird, I'm a crane, I'm a wise and outstanding crane, an honest and upright bird…" Perhaps it was too happy, but the bald crane began bellowing loudly and hoarsely at the top of its lungs as it flew to the ninth summit.
…..
The instant Su Ming stepped into Heaven Gate's second layer, he was immediately swept into a fight. He was surrounded by a plain of grass, and the earth's fragrance traveled into his nose. It would make all those who smelled it to feel refreshed, but now…
Fights raged in this place, and the sounds of hooves clattering could be heard everywhere, crushing all the grass on the ground to pieces while causing the earth to tremble. There were… hordes of soldiers and horses in this place!
An innumerable amount of people were wearing black masks and hide armors while riding on ferocious beasts with the face of a dragon and the bodies of horses. These ferocious beasts ran like the wind, and even the weakest of the Berserkers sitting on them were already in the later stage of the Awakening Realm.
This was an army formed of thousands of people, and all of them were unleashing attacks and strikes on Su Ming on this plain of grass. The long spears and the sharp glints from the swords caused the land to be filled with the fires of war!
In the Land of South Morning, only Shepherd Tower Tribe were skilled in riding and were also the only ones who possessed this unique combat skill around Freezing Sky Clan, because they were the only tribe that was not built on the frozen plains!
The members of Shepherd Tower Tribe placed their focus on riding, and all of the power as well as divine abilities could only be activated after they fused with the warhorse under their bodies. Their strongest move was the full powered charge formed by several dozens of warhorses.
If they could form a charge of more than a hundred, then the power behind their attack would be incredibly astonishing, but if they could perform a charge of more than a thousand… then their strength could shake the earth! In fact, since these warhorses could leap into the sky, even if they had to fight in the sky, they could still launch the unique charge that belonged only to Shepherd Tower Tribe!
The thousands of Shepherd Tower tribe members were right beside Su Ming at that moment. Clearly, they had already received orders beforehand and were waiting for his arrival. If anyone took a closer look, they could be able to find faint, fine, red threads in the eyes of each Shepherd Tower tribe member, hidden away underneath their masks.
This was a plain of grass, but there was also a valley there. Around Su Ming was a mountain range shaped in the form of a ring, and there were multiple villages located on it. To Shepherd Tower Tribe, the meadow was their home, but since their warhorses could leap into the sky, the mountains could also become their home.
At that moment, there were around a thousand Shepherd Tower tribe members standing on the mountain range. These people wore red masks, and murderous aura as well as bloodlust could be found around them. There were three people standing before them.
Besides the old man standing in the middle, the other two people were incredibly big and tall men. The waves of ripples belonging to a Berserker in the initial stage of the Berserker Soul Realm could be found around these two men.
Compared to them, the old man in the middle did not seem to have a lot of ripples spreading out from his person, but judging from the respectful gazes on the two men's faces and the position where they stood for battle, this old man was definitely not some ordinary person.
"Sir Si Ma has already given the order that any tribe who manages to take one limb from this person… will regain their freedom… We from Shepherd Tower Tribe have been reduced to nothing, becoming a people who cannot even control our own fates. Fight… Let our tribe members fight. So what if we die? As long as we can take one of his limbs, we… will all be free!"
The old man mumbled, and with a complicated look on his face, he looked towards the battlefield in the valley. With a wave of his arm, he charged forth. At that moment, he no longer cared about his own status, the only thing he wanted to do was to fight for his tribe's freedom!
The two men by his side followed silently, and right behind them were the thousand blood riders. They lifted their spears high into the sky, and like a layer of red fog, they charged into the mountain range!
Within the villages further down the distance, children could be found hugging their mothers, the elderly watching in silence. Their faces lacked any sort of emotion, and no matter whether it was the women, the children, or even the newly born, fine red threads could be found dancing in a strange and enchanting fashion in their eyes.
The babies' cries echoed in the air, because the red threads' movements in their eyes caused them pain, but they could not take them out. They could only cry endlessly, and Shepherd Tower Tribe… was already used to this sort of life.
Chapter 548: The Second God of Berserkers' Left Hand!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming looked at these Shepherd Tower tribe members charging towards him quietly. He had heard about this tribe before when he was still in the ninth summit. It was one of the tribes that had submitted themselves to the Great Tribe of Freezing Sky a long time ago. They might not be as famous as Phantom Dias Tribe, but they did have their own unique traits.
The use of the warhorses in battle would greatly increase the effectiveness of a person in war. It was a fact. During the great war between the Shamans and Berserkers, numerous corpses of those from Shepherd Tower Tribe could be found on the battlefield after the numerous battles launched between both sides, their blood could spilled on the ground.
'Compared to the Heaven Gate disciples, the control Si Ma Xin has over these people is much greater… Perhaps it's because he needs the disciples in the first layer to head out, that's why he didn't plant a Seed in all of them.'
Su Ming looked at the endless Shepherd Tower tribe members charging towards him with their battle cries. He did not want to kill them, but these people were all charging towards him in desperation and recklessness, throwing all caution to the wind.
Even if Su Ming flew up, they would follow him in a mad charge. In fact, all those who were injured and had not died by the time they caught up to him, they would immediately choose to self-destruct, and even their warhorses would explode with them. The force formed by the explosion was nothing to Su Ming, but if a large number of them exploded in one go... the power would still be shocking.
When Su Ming arrived to the second layer, he was immediately surrounded by such a large number of Shepherd Tower tribe members that they blotted out the sky and covered the earth. He might not want to kill them, but he was forced to. At that moment, he charged out from their flank and rushed towards the sky. Behind him, all the Shepherd Tower tribe members followed in a mad charge.
'I have to open up the sky here and head straight towards the ninth layer!' A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and as he lifted his right hand, the long spear manifested on his palm. He curled his fingers around it, then threw it towards the sky.
The long spear sliced through the air and charged straight towards the sky. The moment it touched it, a loud boom that was deafening to the ears rang in the air, and as it echoed, it stirred up layers of ripples in the sky… but the sky did not break open!
"You can't open it… this isn't a Rune, it's a dimensional barrier. Unless you've mastered the power of the World Plane, you won't even be able to make the barrier shake.
"This is Heaven Gate's second layer. Su Ming, here's a rule of this game. Search for the barrier seal to the third layer. If you can find it, then you can enter the third layer.
"Locating it is easy. Since we're from the same clan, I'll give you a hint. The barrier seal is in one of the Shepherd Tower tribe members. Once he dies, it will appear.
"So, enjoy... this battle to the death!"
With that gentle tone and obvious delight, Si Ma Xin's voice echoed nonstop in the air with an incredibly arrogant manner. He even started laughing, and his laughter was filled with cruelty, along with the crazed delight of him seemingly able to control Su Ming as he pleased.
In silence, Su Ming hurled another punch towards the sky in midair. This time, he activated all the power of his Berserker Bones in his body, causing golden light to shine around his entire body. However, only ripples started spreading violently after he threw that punch… It still did not break!
Before Su Ming could continue trying, howling sounds came charging towards him from the distance. The two men behind the old man from Shepherd Tower Tribe and the one thousand blood riders had already closed in on him.
Su Ming frowned. Another round of slaughter and non-stop battles rained down on this world.
At that moment, a black glare flashed in the sky in the world in the second layer. Clearly, the bald crane had stolen a glance at Hu Zi when it was in the world outside, then came flying back, unable to just give up on those treasures. As its eyes sparkled, it started looting the corpses.
Yet not far into its looting adventures, Su Ming's voice immediately appeared by its ears.
"Open the path to the third layer in the sky. Once you do, everything here will belong to you!" The bald crane had just seized a small bottle from a corpse beside its body and was fiddling around with it to inspect its contents when it heard Su Ming's voice, and its eyes instantly brightened up.
"Oh well, this is just a small matter, I'll help you." It lifted its head smugly, then with a flap of its wings, it steered clear of the battle to arrive in the sky. It lunged forward, executing its unique method to open the path in the sky.
But almost the moment the bald crane touched the sky, it suddenly let out a shrill scream. Its body was originally turning into an illusion, but in an instant, it was bounced off and forced back several thousands of feet.
'Morning Dao's Seal?! This damn Morning Dao's Seal… This… This is impossible! How is there a Morning Dao's Seal here?! It might be incomplete and was created much later, but this presence… this is definitely Morning Dao's Seal!'
Terror appeared in the bald crane's eyes and it started retreating rapidly. As a flicker of light appeared in its eyes, it looked towards the ground.
'This is Morning Dao's mainland… I remember now! There was… There was a seal contained here under the ice in the past! It sealed up the second God of Berserkers'… what was it again…? The second God of Berserkers' left hand!'
The bald crane immediately retreated.
The long spear in Su Ming's right hand shuddered and turned into a layer of violet fog that started rolling and tumbling through the area, causing the four Shepherd Tower tribe members who were on the verge of self-destruction to be pushed off. Right then, Su Ming saw the bald crane retreating in shock.
'It can't open the path as well…?'
A complicated look appeared on Su Ming's face. Rumbling sounds echoed in the area, and the four Shepherd Tower tribe members who had triggered their self-destruction died as their bodies exploded. Most of the impact stirred up by that explosion rushed towards Su Ming.
He quietly let the force of that impact ram into his body, and he took a few steps back. Right before him, the old man from Shepherd Tower Tribe formed a seal with his hands, and with a maniacal expression on his face, he swung his arms into the air, and a gigantic ferocious beast appeared under his feet. That beast was one thousand feet in size and had the head of a dragon, the tail of a snake, the body of a horse, and the horns of a bull. Just the sight of the creature alone gave it an incredibly mighty air!
"A tribe fighting for your freedom. You deserve respect…" Su Ming lifted his right hand, and the long spear in his hands disappeared. The violet armor on his body also turned into fine threads and disappeared when they crawled into his body.
"If you die under the Undertaker's of Evil Spear, you will turn into vengeful spirits that will surround this armor and increase its might… All of you deserve respect. You shouldn't die under this armor," Su Ming said calmly.
He looked at the old man coming towards him, and a hint of conflict appeared on his face. He sighed in his heart, then took a step forward and lifted his right hand to form a seal. Then, he swung his arm, and immediately, a whirlwind appeared in the sky. As violent gusts of wind charged forward, the whirlwind started sweeping through the land beneath him.
As a large bang reverberated above, all the Shepherd Tower tribe members in the sky were sent tumbling backwards and coughed up blood at the same time. Only three people remained charging towards Su Ming.
The three people were the two men who were beside the old man previously, along with the old man himself.
The instant these three people closed in and the ferocious beast of a thousand feet roared, Su Ming took a step forward. There was a complicated look on his face, and as he moved forward, he appeared beside one of the men. Then, he lifted his right hand and pressed it against the man's forehead.
The man started shivering, and all his organs were crushed, but his body remained in perfect condition. However, his eyes turned dark in an instant, and he started falling towards the ground.
"You are fighting for the freedom of your tribe, and I am fighting for the ninth summit. There is no enmity between us… The source of my grudge is Si Ma Xin, and Si Ma Xin alone!"
Su Ming turned around, and his gaze landed on the other man. That man started laughing brokenly, and a large amount of fine threads started crawling out of his eyes. During that instant, his body was engulfed in flames, and as his cultivation base began increasing exponentially, he abruptly exploded before Su Ming.
He knew that he was not Su Ming's opponent. That was why he chose to self-destruct, and all of it was for the sake of fighting for a sliver of chance that might or might not exist for the Elder of their tribe!
Su Ming did not dodge the explosion triggered by the man's self-destruction. Han Mountain Bell materialized around his body, and as he quietly bore through the brunt of the attack, he took a few steps back. The impact stirred up by the self-destruction had formed a violent gust of wind, causing Su Ming's heart to ache slightly.
The Shepherd Tower tribe members who had been pushed away by the whirlwind just now and had coughed up blood due to their injuries started struggling to their feet beneath Su Ming. They charged out once again, and as they roared, they stormed towards him.
They wanted freedom. They longed for it, and now, this was their only chance.
The ferocious beast of a thousand feet closed in on Su Ming from behind while roaring. Shepherd Tower Tribe's Elder stood on the creature, and his face was filled with grief. As mixed feelings churned in his heart, he gritted his teeth in his anguish.
He saw Su Ming's actions, saw that he did not want to kill them. He also saw just how strong Su Ming was. And as he gritted his teeth, the ferocious beast under his body came to an abrupt halt in midair.
"Stay back!" He let out a low shout, and as his voice traveled in the air, all the Shepherd Tower tribe members who were rushing towards Su Ming from all around him came to a stop, and they looked towards their Elder simultaneously.
"Sir, do you have the confidence to kill Si Ma Xin?" the old man from Shepherd Tower Tribe looked at Su Ming and asked in a low voice.
The bell around Su Ming faded away, and he turned around to look at the old man from Shepherd Tower Tribe. After a long time, he spoke.
"If he doesn't die, then I will."
The old Elder of Shepherd Tower Tribe looked towards Su Ming, and he saw the silent fury burning in his eyes. The old man closed his eyes, and after some time, he opened them.
"If he doesn't die, then we will die with you. If he dies, then our tribe will worship you as our esteemed sovereign!"
Resolution appeared on his face. Once he said those words, he lifted his right hand swiftly, and right before Su Ming's eyes, he had one finger pierce the center of his own brows. His face turned pale and he started trembling. As his life force started flowing away, he plunged his entire right hand into the center of his brows and brought out a silver crystal.
"This stone… is the barrier seal… Help… us, kill him…" The old man laughed brokenly. The ferocious beast underneath lifted its head and let out a shrill, heartbroken cry, and the old man's body fell down, right down into the arms of his tribe members.
The crystal flew out on its own and charged into the sky. The moment it touched the ceiling above, a huge vortex swiftly appeared, and within it was the world of the third layer!
"Elder!"
"Elder!"
Shrill, heartbreaking cries echoed in the air, and the emotionless, apathetic looks on the faces of the Shepherd Tower tribe members were gone. Amidst their grief, they rushed towards the old man's corpse, and weeping sounds echoed through the land. The large number of Shepherd Tower tribe members knelt down beside the old man's corpse, and their grief-stricken cries floated into the distance...
Tears fell from the eyes of the elderly folk who saw this from the mountain range, and the children in their mothers' embraces seemed to have noticed as well, and they started crying silently.
The whole world was filled with grief and a heavy sadness.
Su Ming watched this, then bowed deeply towards the old man on the ground. This was a person who deserved respect.
"Si Ma Xin, if I don't kill you, then I can no longer call myself a human."
Su Ming did not shout these words, but instead chose to mumble them under his breath, only to his own ears. Every single word was engraved into his heart, and once he finished speaking, he lifted his head and looked towards the vortex. Killing intent burned even stronger in his eyes, and he charged towards the sky.
Chapter 549: What is Life?!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The sky in the third layer was red.
It looked as if it had just been dyed in blood, causing the entire world to look as if it had turned into a sea of blood.
There were thousands of men standing in it. These people had their heads lifted towards the sky and were all looking at Su Ming quietly. Standing at the center of them was an old man with a face full of wrinkles. The sea of blood rumbled and churned among the crowd.
They were looking at Su Ming, and Su Ming was also looking at them.
"The brat Si Ma planted Berserker Threads in all of us. He said that if we take one of your arms, we will regain our freedom." The old man in the sea of blood was dressed in a long blood-red robe. He looked at Su Ming and spoke with a hoarse voice, but his voice was clear, and it traveled through the entire area.
Su Ming was silent. He did not speak.
"But why should we do this? We have already been humiliated to this extent, and we no longer have a future. If we can only regain our freedom through that brat Si Ma's will, then… we would rather not have this freedom!
"Right now, the only thing we can control is our own will. We have obtained the right to control our own deaths!" The old man in blood-red robes started laughing loudly, and there was an ancient air within his laughter.
"Lad, remember the name of our tribe, Blood Absconsion Tribe, and take our legacy with you. If you kill Si Ma Xin, then help us find our descendants in the world outside!
"There are definitely some members of our tribe living out there. Our tribe members have the mark of a drop of blood in-between their brows, and that mark will remain forever in that spot!" As the old man spoke, a crimson red drop of blood appeared at the center of his brows. He was not the only one who had it either, that mark appeared on all the others in the sea of blood as well.
"We have no children here, neither do we have any women, because if they stayed, then they would not be the only ones who had to suffer. We, too, would have to suffer… I do not want our newly born members to have that Berserker Thread planted in them. I do not want our women to look at the red threads in their husbands' eyes. I do not want our warriors to suffer the fate of being unable to protect their own wives, and having to watch their wives suffer this unimaginable darkness…
"Lad, receive our legacy. I am Xue Lun Hai. Let me, let all of us Blood Absconsion tribe members grant you a serendipity, and help you… kill Si Ma Xin!"
As the voice of the old man in blood-red robes echoed in the air, he sat down within the sea of blood. All the other Blood Absconsion tribe members also sat down with him. None of them refused doing so. The fearlessness towards death could be seen in all of their eyes, along with their deeply rooted hatred towards Si Ma Xin.
When all of them sat down, Su Ming saw all of the people in Blood Absconsion Tribe melting and fusing together with the sea of blood.
The old man was the last one to melt. Before he melted, he said the last words of his life.
"Kill him!"
The instant he said those words, the old man's body melted and became a part of the sea of blood. At the same time, that sea of blood started raging, and as waves surged into the sky, the sea exploded, turning into blood rain that rushed towards the sky from the ground, straight towards Su Ming!
Not a hint of danger could be detected from that blood rain. Instead, it gave off an air of a determined, indomitable will. When it closed in on Su Ming, it turned into a large, blood-red ball that surrounded him within it.
When the entire sea of blood rose up from the ground and came towards him, it turned into a blood-red ball in the sky that pounded like a beating heart!
That heart came from Blood Absconsion Tribe. It came from the tribe that had been planted with Berserker Threads, who could no longer control their own lives, but could control their own deaths!
Su Ming sat down and began meditating in the ball of blood. Grief appeared on his face, and his heart was shaken to the core. This shock came from the Elder of Shepherd Tower Tribe's sacrifice, from the entire Blood Absconsion Tribe's resolution.
This was them fighting against their own fate. They were just like the Fated Kin. Perhaps more accurately speaking, the Fated Kin were not a race. Every single person could become a part of the Fated Kin, as long as they longed to control their own fate, and as long as they took the first step to scream out their unwillingness to bow down to fate!
Each and every single person has their own lives, and every one could become a Fated Kin!
Su Ming's head became clear. He had gained a deeper understanding towards fate.
"What… is Life[1]? It is vitality, because it is a form of inheritance we receive when we are born.
"It is also fate, because if we don't have fate in this inheritance of life, our Lives will be incomplete…
"Life. Vitality. Fate. We are born with Life, but we have to wrestle our own fate from other people's hands in the future to control it ourselves…
"The word Life involves people and the heavens, and fate is what separates humans from the heavens… Does it mean that we have to bow down to heaven before we can be whole and obtain Life to become humans [2]?" Su Ming mumbled within the ball of blood, and at that moment, he opened his eyes.
"If Life means that we have to subjugate ourselves to the heavens before we can call ourselves humans, then the opposite can happen as well, we can still say that we have Life when the heavens bow down to us!"
Su Ming closed his eyes. The moment he did so, the fragment formed by the power of the one World, which was given to him through the Candle Dragon's blessing and had always existed within his body in his mind, suddenly shuddered.
...Even though it had never showed anything strange beforehand.
The edges started to look as if they were melting, and a small piece of that fragment fused into Su Ming's body. The moment that happened, the ball of blood around Su Ming's body shrank in an instant and covered his entire body.
Waves of life force and the power of the world started spreading out of the ball of blood. It also contained a force of struggling and fighting against fate, and all of these were fusing into Su Ming's body.
This was what the old man from Blood Absconsion Tribe had meant by the serendipity of his tribe!
This ball of blood was formed by the essence of the entire tribe. It was the conglomeration of the entire tribe's fate, and they were giving all of it to Su Ming. The instant the power of the ball of blood surged into his body, his blood, flesh, and bones immediately started absorbing it rapidly.
He needed the power provided by this sort of essence, contained within the struggle against fate, within their will, because this power was the source that would continue strengthening all the Berserker Bones in his body!
At that moment, Su Ming's mind was immersed in trying to understand the meaning of Life. As his understanding towards it continued growing and as he started absorbing pieces from the fragment of that one World… a hint of Life Cultivation started spreading out from his body!
As the ball of blood continued spreading rapidly, loud banging sounds traveled out from Su Ming's body. Great power filled it, and while he originally had a seventh of all his bones turned into Berserker Bones, under the legacy given to him by Blood Absconsion Tribe, the number of Berserker Bones in his body started increasing slowly!
"After the Berserker Soul Realm, our blood wilt change. The cultivation for our blood, bones, and souls is done, and everything from the outermost parts of our body to the innermost of our souls is perfect. From hence, we shalt cultivate our bodies no more, but our Life Matrices!
"We must break our Life Matrices and tread on the path to find what is lacking in our lives. This is called Life Privation!
"We must learn of what we lack in ourselves like we know of the regrets the world possesses and as if we understand the changes in the world. This is Life Palace!
"When we have the Life Palace in our hands, then we wilt receive endless glory. We wilt be able to use the power of the World Plane, and this is called the World of Life!
"Life Matrix, Life Privation, Life Palace, World of Life1, these are all after the Berserker Soul Realm, and it is the path of Life Cultivation that belongs to us Berserkers!"
When Su Ming came to understand the meaning of Life, the third God of Berserkers' ancient voice appeared in his head.
'If I step on the path to the cultivation of Life, then from then onwards I will cultivate my own Life! The first stage of Life Cultivation is Life Matrix, but what is Life Matrix…?'
Su Ming still had his eyes closed, and continued sitting inside the ball of blood. As the ball continued shrinking, a large amount of essence fused into his body to become one with his Berserker Bones, gradually causing his cultivation base to continue increasing and turning eight tenths of his flesh, blood and bones into that of a true Berserker.
'Life Matrix… What is Life Matrix…?'
An endless amount of voices appeared in Su Ming's head, repeating that same question. He might be as powerful as a Berserker in the later stage of the Berserker Soul Realm, but, in truth, his current level of cultivation was only that of a Berserker in the Bone Sacrifice Realm!
However, he was turning all his flesh, blood, tendons, and bones into that of a true Berserker, heading towards becoming the strongest Berserker in the Bone Sacrifice Realm that was unparalleled in the world! Yet even so, he still had not arrived at the stage where he could walk the path of Life Cultivation, because he still did not have his own statue of the God of Berserkers!
At that moment, he had a strong hunch that when the day came when he eventually came to understand what was a Life Matrix and reached the Berserker Soul Realm, then a great path would be revealed before him, a path that outsiders had spent their entire life trying to understand, but still were unable to figure out!
This path was the path to Life Cultivation!
As Su Ming continued immersing himself in his thoughts trying to understand the meaning of Life, the ball of blood around him continued shrinking rapidly. After a moment, it completely disappeared. All of it had fused into Su Ming's body.
A red flush appeared on Su Ming's cheeks. For the first time since he entered Heaven Gate… no aura of death spread out from his body. Even if it only lasted for several breaths before the aura of death started surrounding him once again, once Su Ming noticed what was happening during those few breaths, his eyes immediately flew open.
'If I can prolong this span of a few breaths and make it last endlessly, then… perhaps I can find a way to leave what people call Yin��s Death Region!'
The moment Su Ming opened his eyes, his power erupted from within his body explosively, and during that instant, the third layer started trembling violently, and ripples started churning through the entire area with Su Ming acting as their center.
Almost eight tenths of all the flesh, blood, tendons, and bones in his body had turned into that which belonged to a true Berserker, and Su Ming was no longer far away from the great completion that belonged solely to him!
'I wonder what sort of level I will reach… If I can reach great completion for turning all my bones into Berserker Bones, succeed in breaking through into the Berserker Soul Realm, and understand what Life Matrix is…'
A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and when he lifted his right hand, he pushed his hand against the sky that was filled with ripples as if he was supporting it.
The sky in the third layer started trembling violently, and the layers of ripples started rotating, becoming faster with each passing second. As if they contained the power to tear through the sky, as they continued rotating, the sky was ripped apart, turning into a vortex that led to the fourth layer!
Su Ming lifted his head, and a presence that was different from when he first stepped into Heaven Gate appeared around him. That presence contained a desire towards Life Cultivation. It was a hint of the power of Life Cultivation which he had gained after his epiphany!
There was also a much stronger presence within him that was revealed with every single action he took once an eight tenths of his body were turned to that of a true Berserker!
'It doesn't matter what I will manage to achieve first, but understanding what is Life Matrix or arriving in the Berserker Soul Realm will allow my combat abilities to increase by leaps and bounds!'
Su Ming took a step forward, and as a boom echoed in the air, he walked into the vortex leading to the fourth layer.
The flames fueling his desire to kill Si Ma Xin had never been extinguished, and the determination to kill him never weakened. When Su Ming stepped into the fourth layer, that killing intent within him only grew stronger!
Translator's Notes:
1. Life vs life: Life = vitality + fate, by the way, and life is just a state of being alive. Just making this clear.
2. A case of completely lost in translation: Let's look at the word 命, we'll do a breakdown of the original text here, what's up there is me trying to make some sense in English context.
Here it goes.
The word 命 is broken down into 人, 一, and 叩. If you look at it, the word 人 is right on top, 一 is in the middle, and 叩 is at the bottom.
人 means people, 一 means one, or a line, and 叩 means to bow down.
Here is the original text translation.
The word Life has the letter human located right above, and in the middle is a line, separating the heavens and mortals. The letter right underneath means to bow… Does it mean that if we bow to heaven, only then can we obtain Life and live as humans? If Life means that we have to bow to heaven before we can become humans, then Life can also be the heavens bowing down to us humans!
Hopefully this helps make more sense.
Chapter 550: He Feng!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The world was still colored crimson red at the fourth layer, but this shade of red was completely different from the third layer. The third layer's red was due to the sky being dyed with blood, but the fourth layer's crimson was due to the illumination of flames!
The entire sky looked as if it was burning, and hot waves of wind filled the entire world the instant Su Ming stepped into the fourth layer.
The entire land was burning with a sea of fire. Within it was a mountain, and that mountain towered in the sky. However, it was still surrounded by the sea of fire, and there were clouds of smoke rising into the sky from inside it.
It was a volcano!
The volcano's summit was in the shape of a ring, and a middle-aged man was sitting there. He looked incredibly handsome, and he was sitting as if he did not know what heat meant.
His hair was red like fire, and his clothes were also red, as if they were burning in flames.
The moment Su Ming stepped into the fourth layer, that person lifted his head. There was a mark of flames at the center of his brows, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his lips. However, there was a hint of malice contained within that smile.
When he saw Su Ming, flames appeared in his eyes, as if they were burning.
"It's been a long time." A hoarse voice slowly came from his lips. At the same moment his words traveled through the area, the sea of fire in the world roared and started burning even more furiously.
Su Ming stood in midair and looked at the red-robed man calmly.
"It has been a long time indeed, He Feng."
The moment Su Ming said that name, the red-robed man lifted his head and laughed at the sky. Arrogance could be heard within his laughter, along with madness.
It was true! He was He Feng!
He was Su Ming's first opponent when he was still in Han Mountain City, and the two of them continued crossing each other's paths until He Feng ended up becoming his servant, until he betrayed Su Ming during the great war between the Shamans and Berserkers, and until the moment they met each other again within Heaven Gate after twenty years!
"He Feng… I haven't heard anyone calling me by that name for some time…"
The smile on He Feng's lips became even more malicious. He looked at Su Ming, and as he continued laughing, he slowly stood up on the volcano and swung his arm.
"Now, I am Heaven Gate's Right Envoy… the Marquis Fire Berserker who controls an endless amount of lives in my hands!"
As He Feng's words traveled through the air and as he swung his right hand forward, the volcano behind him immediately erupted, and a large amount of lava swiftly gushed out. The waves of black smoke in the sky started sweeping through the area, causing the world to become hotter with each passing moment.
During the eruption, Su Ming even saw some black skeletons within the lava. They were bones belonging to the elderly and the young, and they were rapidly being crushed by the lava…
"To welcome you, I've turned the fourth layer into a sea of fire, turning the entire tribe in this world into sacrifices to my flames, because they wanted to help you with their full strength by fighting against you.
"Only this sort of world is worthy of my status as Marquis Fire Berserker. This is the only world that is worthy of becoming our battlefield!" As He Feng spoke, he took a step forward.
"I am the true Fire Berserker!"
When he said those words, he formed a seal with his left hand and pointed towards the ground. Immediately, the sea of fire there surged into the sky. As the flames tumbled about, all of them swept towards Su Ming.
Once He Feng pointed at the ground, he then pointed towards the sky, and in an instant, the sky started burning, surging towards Su Ming as well, along with the flames from the ground that were roaring loudly.
Su Ming remained as calm as ever, and not much change could be detected on his face. He looked at the arrogant He Feng with a cold and detached gaze, then shook his head.
"You're not worthy of becoming my opponent." Su Ming lifted his right hand, and the instant the flames from the sky and earth surged towards him from all directions, he seized the air before him with his right hand.
The sea of fire around him immediately shuddered and tumbled towards his palm. The sea of fire behind him also swept past him after briefly submerging his body within itself. This scene was quite astonishing from the distance. The endless sea of fire seemed to be under Su Ming's total control and was gathering in his right hand.
It was as if Su Ming was the king of these flames. As the sea of fire gathered together on his palm, it turned into a gigantic fireball.
That fireball burned with loud cracking sounds, and was lifted up by Su Ming's right hand. He looked towards He Feng coldly.
A ferocious expression appeared on He Feng's face. A strange glare began sparkling in his eyes, and his lips curled up into a cold sneer.
The instant that sneer appeared, a human face abruptly protruded out of the fireball that seemed to be under Su Ming's control. That human face belonged to He Feng. He opened his mouth wide, and as if the fireball had been split into two, it went on to devour Su Ming. This was a manifestation of the will contained within the fireball.
Su Ming lifted his head and looked at He Feng who was moving in to devour him with his mouth wide open, then looked at the burning fireball, which was serving as He Feng's body.
"You fused your will into fire. Not bad, you've been training really seriously over the years, but…" Su Ming said calmly, and the instant the fireball went on to devour him, he lifted his right hand a little higher and clenched his fist.
The gigantic fireball that was already less than five feet away from him trembled abruptly, and in an instant, it exploded with a bang.
As it exploded, a large amount of the sea of fire flowed backwards, but not a single ember touched Su Ming. He stood at the center of the collapsing fireball and looked at He Feng while shaking his head.
"...You're still lacking."
He Feng's pupils shrank, and with a low growl, he leaped into the sky. While in midair, the robes on his back immediately tore apart, and a pair of black wings showed up. As he flapped those wings, flames filled the air above his head, and he began forming a seal with his hands. When He Feng looked towards Su Ming, a cruel expression appeared on his face, and he pushed his hands forward.
"Still lacking? Wings of Fire!"
As he roared and pushed forward, he bit the tip of his tongue and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Once it appeared, it started burning, and when the flames gathered together, they turned into a Wings of the Moon!
However, this Wings of the Moon was filled with fire. Brutality was in its eyes, and a howl tumbled out of its lips. Its body was formed by He Feng's blood, and it was born from fire. Once it appeared, it roared, and a large number of its kind immediately appeared around him. In the blink of an eye, almost a hundred of these fire Wings of the Moon appeared before He Feng.
When He Feng pointed towards Su Ming, these fire Wings of the Moon howled and charged forward.
A ferocious grin appeared on He Feng's lips. He was confident that he had completely escaped Su Ming's control and turned into a real Fire Berserker. During the past twenty years, he had been constantly hoping that he could meet Su Ming again. He wanted to let him know that he was the only Fire Berserker in the world!
Even if his status as the Fire Berserker originated from Su Ming, He Feng was confident that he was the superior one!
The acts of fusing his will into fire and turning the Wings of the Moon who were loyal towards Su Ming into flames were the source of He Feng's confidence. He believed that he could definitely kill Su Ming. He would absolutely be able to end the grudge he bore from all those years ago!
When the near hundred fire Wings of the Moon charged towards Su Ming, He Feng also took a step forward. Flames appeared out of thin air around him and surrounded his body, turning into a fire Wings of the Moon that was a thousand feet tall. It enveloped him within, causing him to turn into that Wings of the Moon itself!
Su Ming still remained as composed as ever in the face of the multiple changes in He Feng's Fire Berserker Arts. At that moment, he lifted his right hand slowly, dipped his head down to look at his palm, or more precisely, at the palm lines on his hand.
"You, who do not even know what is a true Fire Berserker, who do not even know why a Fire Berserker is born… are still lacking, even in the end."
Su Ming clenched his right hand, and when he unfurled his fist, three pearls appeared in his hand.
The instant the three pearls appeared, the incoming near hundred fire Wings of the Moon suddenly started shivering, and all of them exploded together with a loud bang, turning into an endless amount of flames that surged towards Su Ming's right hand.
The change in the fire Wings of the Moon caused He Feng to be momentarily stunned. During that instant, he discovered, much to his shock, that his body, which had turned into the thousand feet Wings of the Moon, started to become greatly unstable. Before he could register what was happening, the Wings of the Moon which he had become exploded with a bang, turning once again into flames that charged towards the three pearls on Su Ming's palm.
The instant He Feng saw the those pearls, a feeling that his heart was shaking and trembling while his power started to show signs of scattering away rose within him. The instant this feeling appeared, He Feng discovered, much to his horrified surprise, that he seemed to have lost all connection with the world at that instant!
It was as if the world was rejecting him, as if the flames that should have been so familiar to him that they were a part of him had become something strange to him.
And all of this was because those three pearls had appeared in Su Ming's hand!
The flames in the world surged towards Su Ming's palm with loud rumbling sounds. In an instant, when all the flames had been absorbed by the three pearls, not a single ember was left of the sea of fire in the world. Even the volcano stopped producing any flames after a violent tremor wrecked its body, as if every last flame within it had been extinguished.
"What is fire? Why do you wish to obtain fire? Why do you wish to control fire? You don't even have the answers to these questions, and you dare call yourself the Fire Berserker before me?" Su Ming clenched his fist and put away the three pearls as he looked at He Feng coldly.
Right up to that point of time, Su Ming had never attacked. He simply allowed He Feng to continue executing his divine abilities and watched as if he was looking at a clown. At that moment, He Feng's face turned pale under Su Ming's gaze, and madness appeared in his eyes.
"Impossible. I am the Fire Berserker. I am the true Fire Berserker!" As he roared, he moved forward, and just as he was about to continue executing his divine abilities, Su Ming shook his head.
"You are not the Fire Berserker, and neither am I, because I… do not lack fire in my Life!"
Su Ming took a step forward and swung his right arm forward. That one swing immediately caused a violent gust of wind to appear before He Feng out of nowhere. It turned into a whirlwind that exploded the instant it touched him, turning into a loud bang that surged into the skies. It caused He Feng to cough up blood and forced him to take a few steps back.
He was rejected by fire, and he could no longer feel any traces of it.
"I am the Fire Berserker! I have already given up everything in my life to the flames in the world! I am the person who is the most devoted to fire in the world! I… am the true Fire Berserker!"
As He Feng coughed up blood, his face twisted with a ferocious expression. Without caring about the injuries he sustained on his body, he lifted his head and roared towards the sky. He had very little to no rationale left within him when he began shouting. The only things left in his mind was an unwillingness to admit defeat and a will that surged to the skies!
He had always believed that he was the true Fire Berserker. Over the past twenty years, fire had been his companion, and that was the source of how he managed to stand above everyone else and obtain his current status. Yet now, before Su Ming, his right to control fire had been stripped away from him. This was something he could not accept. This was something that drove him mad!
As he roared… a hint of fire appeared on his body, even though there was no longer any flames in this world!