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Chapter 633: Bright Yang's Mystery

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When the door with the winter symbol opened with rumbling sounds ringing in the air, a glowing runic symbol immediately appeared on Su Ming's right little finger. A freezing and lifeless air manifested around it as well.

At the same time, Su Ming's gaze landed on his right little finger, and he noticed that it was gradually withering away. The color of that finger became distinctly different from that of his other fingers, for it was the little finger of an old man.

Su Ming lifted his head after staying silent for some time. His expression was slightly different from before, because it was surrounded by a lifeless presence. It was as if his entire being had instantly gained an ancient air.

There was a light sound of someone sucking in a sharp breath, and it came from Hidden Dragon Sect's Sun Shan, whose breathing had become rapid due to his disbelief. He had breathed out a sigh of relief when Su Ming had failed in understand the spring runic symbol even after spending several days on it and had begun laughing at him coldly in derision once again. But once the events at the winter door caught his attention, he felt as if an invisible hand had just slapped him hard across the face.

It made all his cold laughter freeze in his heart and all his derisive words die in his mouth. With his breathing having become more rapid, Sun Shan looked at Su Ming with a dazed expression.

'The winter runic symbol is the last symbol among the eight runic symbols in Hidden Dragon Sect. It's also the hardest one to understand among them… Yet he… actually managed to understand it in an instant!'

The lifeless and dead presence coming from Su Ming's body also made Sun Shan feel as if he was looking at an illusion. In his eyes, Su Ming seemed to have turned into a big tree, a tree that had withered away and died from winter's biting chill. This sort of tree might just be waiting for spring to arrive, for the instant it would be revived and wake up from its slumber.

Several days passed since Su Ming started trying to understand the autumn runic symbol. Thousand River Valley was by then completely occupied by Evil Spirit Sect, and as they made preparations in secret, the scent of battle became incredibly thick in the air.

But all of these things didn't have anything to with Su Ming at that moment. He stared at the autumn runic symbol, then closed his eyes. When he opened them once again after a moment, he looked towards the summer runic symbol, and finally, his gaze returned to the spring runic symbol.

'I could instantly understand the winter runic symbol due to what I am, but autumn, summer, and spring are each more difficult than the last. With my current abilities, it'll be difficult for me to completely understand them.' There was no hint of dejectedness on Su Ming's face, only tranquility.

'Autumn symbolizes the downfall of death and the appearance of life… Summer is a period where there is a vast amount of life force… and spring… is the time where you open your eyes!' Su Ming had a faint feeling that when the day came when he fully understood the spring runic symbol, then it would mean that he had reversed the seasons, and he had managed to move from winter to spring.

It would mean that the day when he moved from death to life had arrived!

He kept the image of the autumn, summer, and spring runic symbols firmly in his head. He might not be able to understand and fuse them into his body right now, but he could take them away in his memory and understand them in time.

Su Ming stood up and cast a glance at the five chambers that had been opened up in the cave abode. He had been in this place for most of the month without being aware of it. To him, this empty treasure trove itself was a huge treasure.

As he swept his gaze past the area, he looked towards Sun Shan, who was still pinned to the wall. A glint appeared in his eyes. At that moment, he was still within the winter runic symbol's state, and his entire being seemed lifeless, as if he had withered away.

There was not a hint of light in his eyes, and when Sun Shan saw Su Ming's gaze, it made his heart tremble violently. He could not tell what sort of eyes were those. It was a gaze that could not be described with words, only expressed by what he felt. It was a feeling he would get when he looked at a corpse and it opened its eyes to stare back at him.

Those were dead person's eyes!

There was no spirit within them, no light, no life, no emotions. The hint of aloofness within them was also gone. There was only apathetic calmness, and it would give all those who saw it a feeling as if their bodies were rotting away at that moment.

Sun Shan trembled, and his teeth clattered against each other. The feeling he gained from Su Ming at that moment was too strong, so strong that it made his skin crawl, and he was so afraid that his soul practically left his body in fear.

Su Ming looked at Sun Shan and asked flatly after some time, "Are there any other treasure troves in Hidden Dragon Sect?"

Sun Shan nodded without hesitation, but his expression remained nervous. After that, he shook his head.

"There are, but… they're all empty now."

"What is your status in Hidden Dragon Sect?" Su Ming remained calm and threw out another question.

"A ninth generation disciple…" Sun Shan said with a quivering voice.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you."

Su Ming remained calm. There was not a hint of killing intent in his gaze, but those eyes that seemed like they belonged to a dead man were more terrifying than any sort of killing intent in Sun Shan's eyes.

"If you don't, then I will return your soul to the land of Immortals."

Su Ming lifted his right hand, and when Sun Shan saw the withered little finger, his pupils shrank. He trembled, and the threat of death surged madly into his heart, causing his face to turn stark pale. He immediately spoke up in a shrill voice.

"Senior, I'm only a normal ninth generation disciple in Hidden Dragon Sect, I… I…"

Su Ming was still as calm as ever. Lifeless waves of death aura started seeping out of the hand he had lifted in the air, and he pointed towards Sun Shan. Immediately, a wisp of gray smoke drifted from his little finger towards Sun Shan.

"Still spouting nonsense, I see. You lured the three Evil Spirit Sect members here because you wanted to kill them with the Rune in the cave abode, and you also wanted to open it so that you could hide from being killed in this disaster.

"Even if a normal disciple managed to think about this, he wouldn't be able to do it," Su Ming stated flatly.

When Sun Shan saw that the gray smoke was about to touch his body, anguish appeared on his face. After a moment of hesitation, he spoke up.

"I'm a ninth generation disciple who has the potential to search for the dragon. I… I know the way to break most of the seals under sixth rank in Hidden Dragon Sect!

"The treasures here have been taken away, but some of them are hidden. I might not know where they are, but if I can return to the main Hidden Dragon Sect, then I could bring all of the treasures to you secretly!

"I swear, I can do it, I can definitely do it!" The terror of death seeped into Sun Shan's voice, and as he looked at Su Ming, a pleading expression appeared on his face.

The gray smoke from Su Ming's little finger stopped three inches before Sun Shan. There might be no killing intent or any sort of sinister chill coming from that gray smoke, but the wisps of lifeless air coming from it made Sun Shan's life force run rampant in his body. It was like if that gray smoke touched his body,the fire that was his life would be immediately extinguished.

"Do you know the Hidden Execution of Justice[1]?" A flicker of light appeared in Su Ming's eyes before he suddenly asked.

Sun Shan was momentarily stunned, and his heart let out a loud thump against his chest. The Hidden Execution of Justice Art was the top secret Art in Hidden Dragon Sect. Few outsiders knew about it, much less the name of the Art itself, but the person before him had just mentioned it.

"I can only perform a fusion up to the fourth Dao, and I can only bring up a bit of its power…" After a moment of hesitation, Sun Shan explained in a low whisper.

"What is Bright Yang Stone?" Su Ming asked again.

Sun Shan's expression changed immediately and he fell silent. He no longer spoke.

Su Ming did not rush him. He simply waited for his answer.

After some time, Sun Shan cast Su Ming a miserable look and sighed in his heart.

"Bright Yang Stone is the source for us Immortals who descended in this land in large quantities to be able to use our power. We gathered our life force together on that stone so that we could descend in Yin Death Region.

"Each sect who descends in this place would need to prepare a Bright Yang Stone by gathering up souls… This stone is also the item we need if we want to leave this place."

"Bright Yang…" Su Ming's expression was calm, but a thought rose in his heart. Once he analyzed Sun Shan's words with the cause of why Shen Dong would want to snatch that stone, he could tell that most of what he said was true, even though he was still hiding something.

'No wonder Evil Spirit Sect wants to get that Bright Yang Stone. It's practically the same existence as a life stone[2]. It is an item that has gathered all the souls of those who descended here from a sect.

'This is Yin Death Region, and beyond this place we have Bright Yang Emptiness. When they came here from that place, this stone must have been able to prevent the power of Yin Death from permeating their bodies. With its protection, the souls of all those who descended can remain in the state of Bright Yang.

'If Evil Spirit Sect gets this Bright Yang Stone and destroys it, then it would mean that they've killed off a large amount of Immortals who descended here…'

Su Ming's gaze landed on Sun Shan. He had chosen to bring this person into the cave abode earlier because he had his guesses as to why he had lured the trio from Evil Spirit Sect to this place. The interrogation just now had allowed Su Ming to get his answers, even if the man's words could not be fully trusted.

'If I was Gu Yuan Hai, who only had his Nascent Soul left and his sect destroyed, all while I had that Bright Yang Stone the Evil Spirit Sect is set on obtaining, I would definitely not bring it with me… I would instead hide it away. Only by doing so could I save myself!

'If Gu Yuan Hai was a person who was afraid of death, then this wouldn't happen. But during the fight, he had had the guts to make his physical body explode. He should be a very loyal member of Hidden Dragon Sect.

'If I was him and could split this Bright Yang Stone in half, then I would take a small half of it and leave this place so that I could make myself into a bait and obtain the chance to hide away the other, larger half of the Bright Yang Stone. Then no one would be able to find it.'

Su Ming's eyes sparkled. He had already considered this when Gu Yuan Hai was fighting against Shen Dong earlier, that was why he had chosen to work with Gu Yuan Hai and help him stall for time, even though he knew that there was a chance that there would be no treasures in the cave abode.

Because not only was this act of stalling for time beneficial to Gu Yuan Hai, it was also beneficial to Su Ming for analysis!

'There were two-tenths of a chance that Gu Yuan Hai was afraid of death and my guess was completely wrong, but even so, I wouldn't have suffered any loss! There are four-tenths of a chance that he would hide the Bright Yang Stone away… and there are similar four-tenths of a chance that he would take a small piece with him, while the bigger piece would be hidden somewhere near this place!'

Su Ming narrowed his eyes, and a brilliant light shone within them.

'The more important this thing is, the more desperate Hidden Dragon Sect would be to hide it. I wouldn't have bothered if Evil Spirit Sect had truly managed to snatch it away, but if my guess is correct, then once Thousand River Valley regains a little form of peace, Hidden Dragon Sect would definitely wonder whether they should send powerful warriors to sneak into this place and take the stone away. After all, this place is now extremely dangerous to them!

'Perhaps I can create this chance for Hidden Dragon Sect.'

A pensive look appeared in Su Ming's eyes, but at the moment these thoughts appeared in his head, Sun Shan looked at him and suddenly gritted his teeth. A determined look appeared on his pale face, and he said, "Senior, if you're determined not to let me go, then how about this? I can give you a huge gift. I can offer up my life and search for the places we keep our treasures in Hidden Dragon Sect!"

Translator's Note:

1. Hidden Execution of Justice: The Art Hong Luo asked from that old man before he went off to fight Di Tian.

2. Life stone (命石, ming4 shi2): Might possibly be 本命石, which is either a naturally formed stone, or a polished stone that people place their thoughts within. It is used for remembrance in our world. A life stone contains the memories of a person, and because of it, his existence would never fade away.

Chapter 634: Teach a Fish How to Swim!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Su Ming lifted his head and cast Sun Shan a glance. There was a resolute look on this person's face, making him seem as if he had decided to risk everything for the sake of surviving. Yet even though this Sun Shan was smart and calculative, with the amount of experience Su Ming had gained through his multiple life and death encounters, he still was able to find some clues.

He did not immediately speak, but chose to let his gaze fall on the ground in the cave abode.

'There's a Spirit Vein here, and it's the perfect place for me to swiftly recover my cultivation base, but when I absorb this Spirit Vein, I'll definitely cause a huge ruckus, and I can't immediately absorb it… It'll affect my plans to lure out Hidden Dragon Sect.'

Su Ming fell into a contemplative silence. Most of his analysis was made on pure speculation, and as he thought about the feasibility as well as the gains and losses in his plan, a glint appeared in his eyes.

'I'll first lure out those people from Hidden Dragon Sect. It'll be good if I succeed, but if I don't, then I'll stop thinking about anything else and focus on absorbing this Spirit Vein to recover my cultivation base and reach the Berserker Soul Realm!'

Su Ming made his decision. He waved his arm at Sun Shan, and the gray smoke before him immediately withdrew to return to his right little finger.

"Continue," Su Ming said languidly.

Once Sun Shan his previous words, his heart pounded nervously, but he still kept the determined look on his face and did not dare to show any cracks in his facade. He knew full well just how terrifying this person was, and everything about Su Ming in terms of comprehensive abilities and his cultivation base had surpassed Sun Shan. Even if Sun Shan tried to deceive him, it would be difficult due to Su Ming's intelligence. That was what he believed.

"I possess the potential to search for dragons and can detect the presence of treasures. The seniors in my sect might have hidden the treasures away, but if I offer up my life, there are eight-tenths of a chance that I would be able to find them.

"I can also crack the seal there slightly. I cannot promise that I will be able to open the seal, but I can weaken it by a large margin so that you would be able to obtain it.

"Doing this is the same as betraying my sect. I will be using my life and this act as a chip in exchange for an oath from you. If I succeed, please let me leave." Not a single hint of deceit could be detected on Sun Shan's face. His despair and desperate expression, coupled with his words and tone of voice all screamed of a desire to continue living.

If it was anyone else, perhaps they would truly be affected by his words, but when it came to Su Ming, he only maintained his cool. After casting a few scrutinizing glances at Sun Shan, he nodded his head.

Sun Shan became even more nervous after he said those words. He kept his eyes fixed on Su Ming, and when he saw the nod, his heart relaxed slightly, but there was not much change to his expression. The determined look on his face only grew stronger.

'I only have one chance. If I succeed, this person will definitely die! If I fail… No, I shouldn't fail. This person might be extraordinarily intelligent, but I'm confident that I didn't slip. He might be suspicious, but no matter who it is, they won't refuse my offer. The most they would do is to agree to it and see how things unfold while remaining skeptical.'

"Senior, please swear an oath, or else even if I die, I will still never submit to you!" Sun Shan looked at Su Ming and spoke with gritted teeth.

Su Ming laughed coldly in his heart, but he remained as composed as ever.

"If you can do as you say, then once I succeed, I will naturally return you your freedom."

"Senior, please swear an…" Sun Shan began speaking again, but his words were cut off by Su Ming before he could finish.

"I'll give you the span of three breaths. Either you look for those treasures, or you die!"

A slight hint of impatience appeared on Su Ming's face. With a wave of his arm, he released the restrain on Sun Shan's body, which returned him his ability to move, and his cultivation base was no longer sealed.

The three breaths went by very quickly. Sweat beaded on Sun Shan's face, and when he saw Su Ming lifting his right hand, he clenched his teeth, and the determined look on his face became even more prominent.

"Senior, please do keep to your promise!"

As he spoke, Sun Shan sat down cross-legged on the ground. Once he formed a seal with his hands, he tapped his ears, and as his body trembled, two trails of blood flowed down from his eyes. Black blood also poured out from his ears at the same time.

Su Ming stood by the side, and a freezing glare shone in his eyes. He wanted to see just what this person was thinking. After a moment, he saw Sun Shan trembling even more viciously, and with a wave of his right hand, four black needles immediately appeared on his palm. Without a hint of hesitation, he stabbed one needle into the center of his brows, another into the top of his skull, the third into his heart, and the last needle went straight to his throat.

At the instant these four black needles went into his skin, a strange light shone in Sun Shan's eyes. A deep wave of fatigue also appeared within them. He lifted his head, and his gaze seemed to be able to see through the cave and look at the world outside.

'These four needles can stimulate his soul, and the potential within his life force will also burst forth under this stimulation… By the looks of it, the price for the stimulation of this potential is the burning of his life force.

'With this method, his body will become empty. It does somewhat fit into what he said about offering up his life.' Su Ming gave Sun Shan a onceover, and these thoughts passed through his head.

"The treasure trove is… seventy eight lis away from Thousand River Valley, and within ten thousand feet of the third barren hill!" Once Sun Shan said these words, with much difficulty on his part, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. When that blood appeared, the four black needles immediately started shivering, and as Sun Shan started breathing rapidly, he immediately brought out two more black needles. He pushed onto into his Dantian region and the other three inches above his navel.

"Senior, please take me there. I will open the seal for you!"

Once the two needles entered Sun Shan's body, his face gained a slightly healthier shade, but there was a sickly red flush on his cheeks. Su Ming could see it clearly. Once the needles pierced Sun Shan's skin, his life force began burning a little quicker, and this was the reason why he could still remain conscious.

Su Ming didn't say a word. With a wave of his arm, he swept up Sun Shan and took a step forward. At the same moment his foot landed on the ground, he cast his Nascent Divinity outward, causing his body to instantly disappear with Sun Shan in hand.

Once he warped out of the cave, he warped once more without even stopping. After doing so several times, Su Ming arrived outside a mountain range filled with barren hills without attracting too much attention due to his extreme speed.

This place was seventy eight lis away from Thousand River Valley!

There were seven barren hills in this place. Once Su Ming appeared, he swept his gaze across the mountain range, and his eyes landed on the third barren hill. That hill was empty, and there was not a single hint of green that could be spotted on it. It was very normal, so normal that it would not catch anyone's attention.

"Please place me at the top of the mountain, senior. I will do my best to break the seal for you. Once you successfully retrieve the treasure, please let me go free on behalf of me burning my life and betraying my sect," Sun Shan said, with much difficulty, his breathing labored.

Su Ming cast Sun Shan a glance and nodded. If this person truly did not have any other ulterior motives, then he would return him his freedom as according to his promise.

With one move, he brought Sun Shan to the third barren hill, and once he placed him on a giant rock at the top of the mountain, Su Ming took a few steps backwards and swept his gaze through the area. This place was empty. There was not a sign of anything being hidden here.

'Does he really mean what he said?'

Su Ming was uncertain. He had been observing Sun Shan up to this moment, and right from the moment he began casting his Art to this point, he had not slipped up a single time. All of his actions seemed to be truly of him solely searching for the treasures, and the burning of his life force as well as the burst of his potential were not fake.

It was especially so for his body, which was close to empty at this point. He was like water in an originally full bottle. Due to a fire, he was turning into steam and becoming less as time went by.

Sun Shan formed a seal with his hands once again before he pressed his palms flat on the ground. The entire mountain let out a loud hum, and a large amount of stones broke off. A stream of light could be faintly seen at the center of the mountain.

That stream of light was semi-transparent, and Su Ming could see that there was a door leading to a cave abode right under it!

Sun Shan's face turned pale. As he trembled, his hands flew off from the ground, as if he was bounced off by some sort of energy from within. His body swayed, and he coughed up blood once again before he waved his arms. Eight black needles immediately appeared.

Those needles sank into his body, and once he pushed them all deep within him, his body now contained fourteen black needles. Su Ming could see a large amount of Sun Shan's life force burning in him, and that life force was spreading out of his body.

"Senior, I can only keep it open for the span of a few breaths. I will tell you the time soon. You can choose not to go in and take out the items inside with just your divine sense." Sun Shan's voice was hoarse. His eyes were bloodshot, and sweat poured down his entire body.

Su Ming could not find any sort of problems with his words. If there was really something dangerous in the cave abode, he could simply omit the offer of asking Su Ming to enter the cave abode with his divine sense.

Su Ming frowned and looked towards Sun Shan again. A thought suddenly bloomed in his heart. Most of the young man's body had become empty at this point. The life force he was burning was spreading outwards, and it was gradually disappearing into the air. There was originally nothing strange about it, but his current condition was somewhat familiar to Su Ming.

'Possession! No, he's opening up his body for someone to descend on him!'

Su Ming narrowed his eyes. Sun Shan's body was entirely empty, and while he was a perfect vessel to be Possessed at that moment, his body was an even better vessel for a Nascent Divinity to descend on him!

To cast the Art for a Nascent Divinity to descend on a body, a person needed to practice a similar cultivation method as what Sun Shan was doing at that moment. When his body became empty like a bottle without any water, other people who practiced a similar cultivation method would be able to arrive swiftly no matter how far they were to fill up that bottle with water again.

When Su Ming remembered seeing him stabbing those fourteen needles into his body, he deliberately observed Sun Shan once more, and he found that there were seven among the fourteen that might have seemed to be stimulating his potential, but in truth, when compared to the seven others, they were clearly used to confuse Su Ming's eyes!

The remaining seven needles were arranged to form a Rune on Sun Shan's body with his veins under his skin serving as the connection between the needles. However, that Rune was still incomplete. Once Su Ming cast Sun Shan a scrutinizing look, he could tell that the Rune seemed to be missing one needle.

At that moment, Sun Shan lifted his right hand, and a black needle appeared on his palm. Without any hesitation, he pushed it straight above his left ear, and green veins instantly popped up on his face.

"Senior, you can enter now!"

At the same moment he shouted those words, the stream of light from the center of the mountain froze for a moment before rapidly fading away to reveal a gap!

The door to the cave abode also opened up a crack with loud rumbling sounds, and a trail of extreme Yang aura seeped out!

If it was anyone else, even if they were dubious towards Sun Shan's words, they would definitely be attracted to the cave abode opening at that moment, and would naturally relax their guard towards the young man. What Sun Shan wanted was this chance that lasted only for an instant. At that moment, he started chanting in his heart.

'The water in the sky contains the beauty that blesses an Emperor, and that beauty… is right at the center[1]! Master, please appear in me!'

Translator's Notes:

1. The water in the sky contains the beauty that blesses an Emperor, and that beauty… is right at the center: Remember the whole entire metaphor of the water in a bottle thing? Now we expand it to a grander scale. Water in the sky is the moisture in the clouds, obviously, and when it rains, the land is blessed, which is good for the ruler in Imperial China, because it means that the gods like him. Right at the center means that the moisture is the most abundant at the center of the clouds.

So here, by that chant, Sun Shan probably means to say that his body is now void of that beauty/blessing, and he needs something to fill him up with that beauty/blessing.

Chapter 635: Mighty!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As Sun Shan shouted that chant in his heart, the presence of his burning life spreading out from his body immediately started changing based on some sort of law in the universe.

This change seemed to be working in accordance to the clouds, the stars, the wind around them, the terrain of the ground itself, and everything else in the world. It also formed a tight connection to the Rune that was formed after Sun Shan pushed the eight needles into his body.

It was as if Sun Shan's body had turned into an invisible black hole at that moment, one that was connected to a place somewhere tens of thousands of lis away. It resulted in Sun Shan turning into a medium connecting two points through space, and his body becoming one of the two points. A Nascent Divinity would then be able to descend on him after traveling through the medium!

Sun Shan was laughing coldly in his heart. He believed that this plan he prepared was foolproof. Unless Su Ming absolutely did not believe in him and immediately cut him off at the moment he started casting this Art before killing him, Sun Shan was absolutely confident that he could make him walk straight into his deathtrap.

Everything he had done previously was for this final moment. At the instant Su Ming's attention was attracted by the cave abode opening up, he would make this energy in him explode. He only needed an instant for this to work. Even if Su Ming noticed it later, it would still make no difference!

However… all of these idealistic situations he'd imagined would usually not work as planned in reality. For example one could take the fact that when Sun Shan started shouting the chant in his heart to have his Master's Nascent Divinity descend on his body, he saw Su Ming, who he thought would be looking at the cave abode opening up… looking at over at him coldly instead.

There was a hint of scorn in that aloof gaze, and once Sun Shan saw it clearly, a shudder went through his body. Su Ming's gaze was like a sharp blade that pierced his body, and he felt as if all his secrets had been revealed under that gaze. He could hide nothing from Su Ming.

'Impossible! He couldn't have possibly noticed my thoughts! I didn't slip up even once!'

Sun Shan's heart let out a loud thump, and his body started trembling, but he no longer had time or freedom to be thinking too much. He swiftly lifted his hands and formed a seal before striking his own body.

Sun Shan started trembling violently with a bang, and a powerful might spread out from his body, as if another divine sense had appeared within him out of nowhere. That divine sense swiftly grew larger, rapidly turning into a Nascent Divinity to occupy Sun Shan's body and take control over it.

Right from the start till the end, Su Ming never tried stopping him. When Sun Shan saw this, his heart went wild with joy, but at the same time, he also grew uncertain. The feeling that he could not see through Su Ming's thoughts rose within him once again.

"Are you done descending yet?" Su Ming asked flatly.

At the instant he voiced that question, Sun Shan's heart started trembling violently. All of the things that he thought had happened to him by luck fell to pieces. He knew that this person had learned of what he intended to do a long time ago, but he still let him complete the entire process of calling his Master to descend on him. This would only have happened if he was either an idiot, or he had complete confidence in himself!

He was confident that even if Sun Shan asked his Master to descend on him, he would still be able to completely dominate him!

But Sun Shan was a little too slow in his realization. These thoughts had just appeared in his head when his consciousness disappeared with a bang and fell into deep sleep. He had finished casting his divine ability, and the divine sense that had appeared out of nowhere in his body had already expanded and gathered together to turn into a Nascent Divinity.

His eyes fell shut and his head rolled downwards, then all his Qi disappeared with his consciousness. But at the same time that happened, a terrifying might swiftly replaced his Qi and exploded from his body, but the radius of the explosion was limited to only a circular area of ten thousand feet. Clearly, whoever it was did not want to spread that explosion too far away to avoid Evil Spirit Sect's detection.

"Sir, aren't you being a little too careless to just watch me descend…? How should I repay you?" A hoarse voice came from Sun Shan's lips. When he started speaking slowly, his shut eyes swiftly flew open, and a brilliant sparkle appeared in them, like a flash of lightning, before he lifted his head.

When he did so, his body began rapidly aging right before Su Ming's eyes. Almost in the blink of an eye, the young Sun Shan was no longer there, but was replaced by an old person who exuded an ancient air. His skin was filled with wrinkles, and his hair had already turned gray. A powerful presence that did not belong to Sun Shan slowly spread out from his body.

"If you want to repay me, then tell me how many fusions of Dao you can do with your Hidden Execution of Justice," Su Ming's said flatly, his expression remaining calm.

Cracking sounds came from Sun Shan's body at that moment, and Sun Shan's master slowly stood up. His gaze was like lightning as he looked at Su Ming, and he suddenly began laughing.

"So you were after Hidden Dragon Sect's Hidden Execution of Justice! I can fuse six Daos within that Art!"

At the same time the old man said those words, he took a step towards Su Ming. When his foot landed on the void, powerful waves spread out under it and started sweeping outwards in all directions, as if the air had turned into water, and his foot had turned into a stone that could create ripples on the surface once it fell in.

Those waves seemed normal, but in truth, each one contained the power of the old man's cultivation base. As it spread out and closed in on Su Ming, he also lifted his right foot and took a step forward.

At the instant his foot landed, waves also started spreading out from under his foot and crashed into the waves that the old man had created with his cultivation base. When the opposing waves connected, interconnecting loud bangs rang out continuously. The old man let out a muffled grunt and staggered a few steps backwards. When he lifted his head, his expression changed.

"Great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm!" His pupils shrank.

"Early stage in the Ascendant Stage!" Su Ming's body swayed slightly, but he did not back down as he looked at the old man and stated slowly.

"Are you Man Ya? Or are you perhaps Wu Shuang, Xue Sha, Tian Qi, or Chi Lei Tian, appearing before me after you went into hiding and changed your appearance?" The old man stared at Su Ming and blurted these five names in one go. Su Ming was familiar with Chi Lei Tian's name among the five he mentioned, but he had never heard of the other four before.

However, if the old man would say these names when he presumed that Su Ming was a Berserker who had attained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm, then these people must surely have the same level of cultivation as what he presumed Su Ming to have!

'These five people must be the five Berserkers who have attained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm within Eastern Wastelands. Besides Chi Lei Tian, one of the names he mentioned should include All Entities Clan's progenitor, who had fought against me across the sea.'

Su Ming did not answer his question. When his foot landed, a glint appeared in his eyes before he took another step. At the moment he moved forward, a vast amount of power erupted from his body and fused into his foot, causing the weather within ten thousand feet to change and a huge vortex to appear in the sky.

At the same time, a huge foot materialized in midair. This one step belonged to a certain divine ability - the God of the Berserkers' Seven Steps!

Sun Shan's Master swiftly moved back. He was cursing in his heart at that moment. He might have come here with his Nascent Divinity instead of his real self, but if his Nascent Divinity was injured or destroyed, it would also be a disaster for him.

He did not expect that his disciple would call him here to face a powerful enemy who had attained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm, which was the equivalent of the great circle in Ascendance. If he knew about this earlier, he would not have bothered about a single disciple's call or about his survival, even if that disciple had the rare potential to search for dragons.

Even if the presence of Bright Yang Stone here had allowed him to descend in this place while ignoring the consequences, but all of this was not worth it in his eyes if he had to fight against a Berserker who had attained great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm!

After all, it did not matter whether it was his disciple or that Bright Yang Stone, both of these things were just external objects. Besides, that Bright Yang Stone did not have his soul, so he did not have to worry about his own survival either.

As he retreated, his expression turned dark and he lifted his hands while biting down on the tip of his tongue to cough up a mouthful of fresh blood. Once he formed a seal and pointed forward with both hands, the blood swiftly spread out and turned into a humanoid that charged forward.

Immediately after, that blood humanoid's body swayed as it moved forward and turned into two before it swaying once more and splitting into four. When nearly a hundred humanoids were in the air, they moved in unison towards the foot in the sky, and towards Su Ming.

Su Ming did not stop moving even for a single instant. He took the seven steps in swift succession. When he completed them, the world rumbled, and a powerful force of impact swept horizontally in all directions, starting from this place itself. Under the loud rumbles, the face of Sun Shan's Master turned stark pale. He swiftly retreated, and blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth. Shock also appeared on his face.

'He's not in the great completion stage of the Berserker Soul Realm, but is halfway into the path to Life Cultivation! He's already equivalent to those in Illusory Yin and Corporeal Yang!'

The old man did not hesitate in his retreat. He already did not have the heart to continue fighting. The only thought he had in his mind at that moment was to widen the distance between them and strive for a chance to leave this body!

However, before he managed to retreat up to even some hundreds of feet, Su Ming charged forward like an arrow in the mid of that force of impact and subsequent shattering of space. When he lifted his right hand, wisps of black smoke spread out and turned into the Undertaker of Evil's Spear on his palm. Once he gripped it, he swiftly threw it forward.

A piercing hum came from the Undertaker of Evil's Spear as it turned into a long black arc that charged towards the old man, whose pupils shrank once again. He was already at a disadvantage because he could not bring with him any Enchanted Treasures when he descended to this place, and there was simply too big of a disparity between their combat abilities. When the long spear closed in on him, he swiftly lifted his hands and formed a strange seal that seemed like a vase before pushing it forward.

A vase that had streams of light flowing from it immediately manifested and crashed into the long spear. With a loud bang, the vase shattered, and the long spear shot through the broken pieces, slicing through the old man's right arm.

With a loud bang, the old man's right arm shattered instantly and turned into a bloody mess of torn flesh. His face turned even paler, but he still gritted his teeth and continued retreating hastily. With each step he took backwards, his presence in the body would reduce slightly.

'Soul's Return in Six Steps!'

The old man no longer had any will to fight. The only thought he had in his mind at that moment was to have his Nascent Divinity return to Hidden Dragon Sect. Once he took three steps back, his presence reduced by a large margin, but just as he was about to take his fourth step back, Su Ming closed in on him!

Translator's Notes:

1. Hidden Execution of Justice: It was mentioned by Hong Luo to another old man in the past, and Hong Luo snatched his eye after the old man casted it.

Chapter 636: A Moth Attracted to a Flame!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Su Ming was slightly faster than the old man. When he chased the old man down, he was like a long arc that was instantly on him. The old man's eyes sparkled. He might only have three steps left before his Nascent Divinity could leave, but he would not be able to complete these them with how quickly Su Ming was charging at him.

His face turned pale. No matter how he turned his head around to think, he could not find a way for him to survive. He did not have Enchanted Treasures, did not have items to help him block Su Ming's attack, his power could not compare to the other's, much less his combat abilities. The wild arrogance he had before he descended had completely disappeared, and it was replaced by a wave of despair.

In the mid of his despair, there seemed to be only one path that remained for him!

Self-destruction!

He could trigger the explosion of his Nascent Divinity, and with his real self having to go through a disaster in Hidden Dragon Sect as well as his power being greatly reduced as a price, he could injure Su Ming… but he did not want to do it!

This would bring no good to him. At that moment, the old man's hate towards Sun Shan was already so great that it was practically burning his soul!

'Damn it! Do I really have to self-destruct?!'

The old man fell into despair. Unless he absolutely had to, he would definitely not take this path. This was something he absolutely could not accept.

Even if he could injure Su Ming, his real self's level of cultivation would still fall. He might not even be able to return to the land of Immortals. He might even die during the chaos that was about to arrive.

He could almost imagine it, for it was not like he did not have enemies in Hidden Dragon Sect itself. If his power fell, then with the slightest careless mistake, he would end up in an incredibly terrible state.

This was a dilemma!

These sort of thoughts were what were reflected on the old man's at the moment, albeit only for a moment. When he saw that Su Ming was getting closer still, he knew that the other would most likely close in on him and interrupt his actions before he could even finish taking his fourth step.

'What should I do?!'

The old man opened his eyes. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and anxiety appeared on his face. But just as he was about to attack in desperation, a thought suddenly flashed in his head, like a bolt of lightning crackling in the sky with a loud bang.

'Hidden Execution of Justice! That's right, the first thing this person asked me when I appeared was about Hidden Execution of Justice!' The old man had already reached Ascendant Stage, and his intelligence was naturally of extraordinary standards. When that thought formed in his head, he understood what he needed to do instantly.

And as that understanding dawned on him, misery, too, rose in his heart.

'What a calculative man. With this person around among the Berserkers, he'll surely become a great enemy of us Immortals in the future…

'He waited for me to descend for Hidden Dragon Sect's Hidden Execution of Justice. I don't know where he heard of it, but judging by his looks, he seems to be incredibly familiar with this Art, and he also knows that everyone can cast it!

'This person must have definitely asked that disciple of mine, and he wasn't satisfied with his answer, that's why I was allowed to descend. All of this was part of his plan, and Sun Shan did not even notice it.

'He waited for me to descend on purpose and even asked that question because he already knew the end result of the battle. He knew that I would definitely not be his opponent and would choose to run. He also knew that I would definitely be conflicted and struggle over my choices right now. Similarly, he knew that I would remember the first question he asked of me at this moment.

'It's clear now. He doesn't want me to self-destruct and get injured either. He will let me leave, but the price is… Hidden Execution of Justice!'

A resolute look appeared on the old man's face, as he was filled with misery. Right at the instant Su Ming was about to close in on him, he lifted his right hand and flung it forward.

"Hidden Dragon Ninth Dao, Autumn Harvest Winter Storage!"

As the old man's voice reverberated in the air and his right hand moved, a murky shade instantly appeared in his right eye.

"Hidden Dragon Eighth Dao, Hidden in Secret!"

While the words swiftly tumbled out of his mouth, he changed the seal in his right hand and pointed at his right eye. Then, the murky shade there started to rapidly gather together, and the edges of his eye began to gain clarity.

"Hidden Dragon Seventh Dao, Covering Tracks in Shadows!"

With these words, he took his fourth step backwards, and when his presence diminished once again, the murkiness and clarity in his right hand fused together, causing his right eye's pupil to look as if it was hidden away by his right eye, as if it was covered in shadows!

"Hidden Dragon Sixth Dao, Fire in Sleeves!"

The old man lifted his left hand and changed the seal. When it seemed like there were a few sparks flickering in his sleeves, a flame's glow instantly appeared in his right eye. As that light flickered, his pupil looked as if it had turned into a ball of burning flames. The sparks that had appeared in his sleeve were also immediately absorbed by his eye, making it seem as if there were flames moving in circles before the old man, and they were all surging towards him.

At that moment, his right eye was continuously alternating between four states - murkiness, clarity, flames, and illusions, all of which turned it into a shocking, strange sight!

"Hidden Dragon Third Dao, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!"

The old man let out a low growl and took his fifth step backwards. At the instant it landed, his presence turned incredibly weak, and his Nascent Divinity in this body gave off a chaotic feel, as if he was about to turn into wisps of divine sense at any moment.

As his voice rang in the air and the seal in his right hand changed, a large amount of afterimages from seals appeared before him. Those afterimages appeared like fog, and as dragon roars echoed among them, the seals connected together to turn into a roaring dragon.

Almost at the same time it manifested, blood capillaries appeared in the old man's right eye, and as they intersected, they formed a clear pattern of a tiger's stripes!

At the instant that happened, the dragon that was swimming about and roaring in front of the old man charged into his right eye and fused with the stripes.

"Hidden Dragon Second Dao, Concealment... in the Void!" the old man shouted out, and the blood capillaries in his eye changed to form a dragon at the center, with the tiger's stripes around it, and the Eight Trigrams at the edges of his eye. A blood-red ray of light also appeared, causing his right eye to gain a strangely enchanting edge.

He lifted his foot, and when he moved to take his sixth step, he dug his fingers into his right eye socket, and without bothering about the intense pain brought by his actions, he yanked his right eye out of his body, then tossed it towards Su Ming, who was walking towards him slowly with a calm look on his face.

"I have acted rashly today, and now use this Hidden Execution of Justice as an apology for my actions. Let us meet again in the future!"

The old man took his sixth step. He might have understood Su Ming's thoughts and had done things according to his wishes, but he was still worried that the other would change his mind and constantly kept his guard around him. If Su Ming did something else, then the old man would self-destruct at all costs.

At the moment he took his sixth step, Su Ming caught the eyeball and looked towards the old man. The Nascent Divinity in the old man's body had already turned into divine sense, and it was sucked into Sun Shan's body as if he had turned into a black hole. It disappeared without a trace, a clear sign that the old man had left Sun Shan's body and went back to Hidden Dragon Sect, which was located tens of thousands of lis away from this end of the connected tunnel.

Sun Shan, who had lost the old man's Nascent Divinity, fell to the side and was trembling violently in a state of unconsciousness. Blood trickled out from the corners of his mouth, and in his weakened state, he struggled to open his eyes, but as even his eyelids shivered, he lost all of his strength and his eyes fell shut once more as he breathed his last.

He did not die because of Su Ming, but because his Master had absorbed his last shreds of life in a fit of hate before he left.

Su Ming cast a glance at the Hidden Execution of Justice in his hand. Seeing this item's use when Hong Luo was in control of his body was not the only reason why he wanted this. More importantly, he had also come to know from the memories he inherited from Hong Luo that this Hidden Execution of Justice, which was a mysterious, ancient art in Hidden Dragon Sect, had the ability to break many seals.

However, this Art was rather sinister. Not only could a person practice this Art, it could also be snatched from a practitioner, just like what happened just now. Once the right eye of the person who practiced this Art was snatched away, then he would lose all the benefits that came with this Art, but that did not mean that there was no remedy to this situation. The practitioner himself would just need to take it back from that person who snatched the Art from him.

Su Ming did not know the details though. He was only aware of the general idea of how it worked.

He lifted his left hand and swung it at Sun Shan's corpse through the air, and the corpse immediately turned into ashes. Only his storage bag was left behind and extracted from his body before it landed on Su Ming' palm and was then put away into his bosom. With a sparkle in his eyes, Su Ming looked down at the barren land underneath.

The mountain range had already turned into a flat ruin, courtesy of the battle just now, which had caused the entire hill to collapse. Only a small part of the third barren hill remained, and that was because it was protected by the seal placed on it.

Su Ming was just about to take action as he looked at the seal when his expression suddenly changed. He lifted his head and cast a glance in the direction of Thousand River Valley. The waves of power that had appeared in this place just now might have been limited to only ten thousand feet, but when Sun Shan's Master left just now, the power of the world he had stirred up was clearly no longer just in the range of ten thousand feet, which was why the powerful warriors in Evil Spirit Sect had immediately noticed it.

A flicker of light appeared in Su Ming's eyes, and he took a step forward, appearing right outside the door to the cave abode, which was hidden away by the streaming rivers of light. He lifted the Hidden Execution of Justice in his right hand and pushed forward, and the eyeball immediately shone with a strange light. The dragon and tiger inside roared, and the Eight Trigrams manifested. The blood capillaries changed their position, as if they were matching the patterns of the seal, and almost in an instant, cracking sounds rang in the air, and the flowing streams of light outside the cave abode instantly dissipated.

The door to the cave slowly opened up, and a powerful ray of light shot out from within. A presence of extreme Yang instantly spread out, and right at the moment Su Ming sensed that presence, his body started rapidly withering away, but he did not panic. His eyes lit up instead.

He was somewhat familiar with this presence. It was the same presence he felt in the galaxy beyond the vortex when he left the World of Nine Yin with the ancient bronze sword in the past.

By the time the door to the cave completely opened up, there were several long arcs charging forth from the distance. Su Ming stared at the cave, and the thing floating in midair within it.

It was a stone about the size of a fist, made entirely of gold. The light shining from its body was like the sun, and it could make people feel warm in its presence, but to Su Ming, this light and presence was like poison, and it was causing his body to swiftly wither away!

'Bright Yang Stone!'

Su Ming's skin filled with wrinkles, and he looked as if he had walked through his entire life during the couple breaths since the cave abode opened. A thick aura of death spread out from his body, but when it touched the light from this Bright Yang Stone, it melted away like snow and rapidly dissipated.

Su Ming hesitated for a moment, but it only lasted for a moment before he stepped forth without any hesitation and faced the light that was making his life disappear head-on. He charged towards the stone, and at that moment, he looked as if he had turned into a moth that was charging straight into a fire!

At the instant he grabbed hold of the Bright Yang Stone, a large amount of black smoke spread out from his right hand, and a sharp pain that went straight to his soul shot through his body, causing Su Ming to almost be unable to bear with the pain, but he did not loosen his grip around the stone. Instead, he wrapped his fingers tighter around it!

"Su Ming, if you can't even handle a small little stone and give up now, then what right do you have to say that you want to get out of Yin Death Region?!" Su Ming growled with a pale face. As he threw that question to himself, he grabbed that stone, took a step forward, stepped into air, and instantly warped away, right at the moment an innumerable amount of long arcs closed in on the area from the sky!

Chapter 637: A Small Yang Stone!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

With that step forward, a large amount of black smoke spread out from Su Ming's body. The aura of death from the black smoke was incredibly thick, and it was enough to make all those who saw it feel their hearts trembling in shock. No one would know what would happen if they touched it.

The indescribable pain disappeared when Su Ming walked away, and the cave abode collapsed with a bang and turned into ruins, though there was still a thick aura of death surrounding the place. Almost at the same time Su Ming disappeared, numerous long arcs swiftly closed in on the ruins, and the person in the lead was Shen Dong. Right behind him were all of the powerful Immortals who had descended in Evil Spirit Sect and were currently residing in Thousand River Valley.

"What great aura of death!"

"Who was it? We couldn't see his face clearly just now, but the thickness of this aura of death is terrifying. Could he be a heavenly corpse type monster?!"

"There's also a sign of someone's Nascent Divinity descending in this place!"

Shen Dong looked around the area before his gaze landed in the direction where Su Ming left, and he looked as if he was absorbed in his thoughts. The people behind him were attracted by the strange sights in the place, and as they discussed the phenomena around the area among themselves, they retreated, unwilling to get too much of the aura of death in the place on themselves.

"Progenitor, should we continue chasing him down?"

A middle-aged man walked out from behind Shen Dong. There was a slight hint of wariness on his face. Once he cast a look at the thick aura of death around the place, he wrapped his fist in his palm towards Shen Dong.

He fell into a moment of pensive silence before he said slowly, "No need. We've already obtained the Bright Yang Stone from Gu Yuan Hai and completed our mission. There's no need for us to bring new problems on ourselves…"

"Indeed. After all, we have to complete the other task given by Sir Ji An next and prepare to fight against the other sects. Judging by the thick aura of death here, the person who left just now must surely have an astounding level of cultivation. There's no need for us to provoke him," an old man in red robes stated in a deep voice.

Bao Qiu was also among the group. At that moment, her heart was pounding against her chest. They might not have been able to see Su Ming clearly just now, but based on her senses, she could tell that the person who let out that thick aura of death just now was him!

The group with Shen Dong as the lead stayed a little longer in the place to search the area thoroughly. Once they did so, they gradually left into the distance and turned into long arcs, flying into the sky.

'The only person around the area who could overpower a Nascent Divinity cultivator who descended in this place might only be him…'

When Shen Dong left, he turned his head around and cast a glance at the place filled with the aura of death. The image of a person who he could not forget popped up in his head, and he cast a glance at Bao Qiu in a seemingly casual manner.

Su Ming warped again once he reappeared after his first warp, and he continued warping until he appeared inside the cave abode with the eight runic symbols in Thousand River Valley. The moment he was there, he staggered. His whole body was surrounded by the black aura of death, and it was especially thick around his right hand. It looked as if it was about to melt.

Sharp pain filled Su Ming's entire body. He gritted his teeth in the cave abode and sat down cross-legged, then stared at the stone in his right hand. The extreme Yang presence coming from it was like a burning sun that wanted to melt all ice.

It was as if he was holding onto a ball of flames that would never die in his hands, one that currently posed a huge threat to him.

Su Ming glared at the Bright Yang Stone in his hand, with labored breathing, and red gradually filled his eyes.

'It's just a small stone, and it's already left me in such a pathetic state… If I truly leave this place and reach Bright Yang Region in the future, I might disappear in just a few breaths…'

Su Ming did not loosen his grip around the stone, but instead curled his fingers tighter around it.

'I don't believe that with my level of cultivation, I won't be able to suppress this petty Bright Yang Stone!'

Veins popped up on Su Ming's face, and his power swiftly burst forth from his body. All his power as a Berserker circulated through him, causing even more aura of death to spread out of his body. After some time, the cave became filled with thick black smoke, and it was so dark that even if Su Ming stretched out his fingers, he would not be unable to see them.

The circulation of his power increased in speed. At that moment, he was circulating all the power he could muster within him so that he could suppress the Bright Yang Stone in his hand!

'This stone is like a ball of flames. It might do nothing to other people, but to me, it's as if it's working against my Life!'

Su Ming lifted his left hand and formed a seal before he pushed it down swiftly on that Bright Yang Stone in his right hand. With it, his left hand immediately showed signs of disappearing, and his body also started trembling, as if all his efforts were in vain and he could do nothing towards the stone.

'I don't believe that I can't do this!' A dark look appeared in Su Ming's eyes.

'Even if this stone is a ball of flames and even if I'm just a moth before it, I will still use my body to extinguish it! Even if it's the sun and I'm just ice that will melt when it gets close… then I will make it extinguish as I melt!'

Su Ming's body rapidly aged. At that moment, he looked like an ancient old man, and even if a person who was close to him appeared before him at that moment, they would find it difficult to recognize him.

As his power erupted from his body, Su Ming felt like an endless amount of ice sprayed on the sun. He was melting continuously and disappearing nonstop, but he still did not give up. There was a determination within him, along with a refusal to give up.

He refused to believe that he would be defeated by a mere stone. If he could not even suppress this stone, then he did not know whether he would have the courage to move even further and walk out of Yin Death Region!

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, seven days went by. During them, most of Su Ming's body had become indistinct, and even his will was starting to shake as if it could not withstand the constant intense pain. The pain, the gradual disappearance of one's body, and the feeling as if something was directly conflicting with their Life[1] was enough to push anyone going through it straight into the depths of madness.

Su Ming gritted his teeth, but he did not loosen his grip around the Bright Yang Stone. He could put it away and avoid its brilliance temporarily before attempting to suppress it again once his level of cultivation raised a little higher.

But he did not!!

He was not willing to do such a thing. If the thought of pushing this back formed in his heart and avoidance took seed in his mind, then he would lose his courage to leave Yin Death Region.

He did not believe that one mere stone would be able to kill him!

It was precisely because of this unwillingness to believe that his will remained unshaken, no matter how great of a pain he had to suffer. During the seven days, he had circulated his power madly within his body so that it would completely burst forth to suppress the stone!

'If you are fire, then I am the ice that will extinguish fire!

'If you are the sun, then I am the darkness that will chase away the sun!

'You and I are born to counter each other… but since you are countering me, then I can also counter you!' Su Ming roared in his heart.

On the eighth day, when all his power erupted from his body and his cultivation base started showing signs of weakening after eight continuous days of suppression, for the first time, the Bright Yang Stone in his hand started letting out cracking sounds, and a crack appeared on it!

As that crack appeared, a large amount of aura of death surged inside and crashed into the power within. At that moment, as if fire and water were fighting against each other, the extreme Yang presence within the Bright Yang Stone started showing rare signs of weakening through Su Ming's continuous fight against its might from his disadvantageous position!

If any Immortal saw this at that moment, they would definitely be shocked, because Bright Yang Stones were objects that could allow Immortals to preserve their souls in the state of Yang. That's why they would not be too affected by the land itself once they descended in Yin Death Region, and these Bright Yang Stones were rare even in Bright Yang Region.

It was practically impossible to change the stone, and it was impossible for it to be filled by the aura of death, because wherever it was, it would instantly make all the aura of death disperse!

Yet now… that Bright Yang Stone was showing signs of being changed and suppressed because of Su Ming. These signs might still be far from the stone being truly transformed, but the appearance of these signs was enough to leave anyone who might learn of it in shock.

When the tenth day arrived, Su Ming's cultivation base became even more dried up, but the red in his eyes showed his determination. The extreme Yang presence from the Bright Yang Stone in his hand could no longer compare to what it was ten days ago. It might still be strong, but there was no way Su Ming could be wrong about what he sensed.

It could be said that he had gone through an indescribable metamorphosis during these ten days. He endured through it all despite the extreme pain and madness, and the longer he endured, the weaker the Bright Yang Stone became!

'One of these days, I will be able to change this stone completely and turn all of its life force into an aura of death, and I will turn this Bright Yang Stone… into Yin Death Stone!'

When the stone's might became much weaker and started showing signs of being suppressed, Su Ming lifted his left hand and cut open a gash across his chest. At the instant that wound appeared, he pressed the Bright Yang Stone in his right hand onto the wound.

At the instant Su Ming did this, his eyes became hazy, suddenly lacking focus, but they swiftly returned to normal in an instant. He gritted his teeth and forced the Bright Yang Stone into his wound to fuse it with his body.

This was his counterattack against Bright Yang Region!

He wanted to remember this feeling of being burned. He wanted to remember this feeling of withering away under Bright Yang. He wanted to remember all these things and get used to it slowly. He was going to make plans, make preparations, and get used to this feeling when he left this place in the future!

When the Bright Yang Stone fused into Su Ming's body, he formed a seal with both his hands, and his body instantly turned into something akin to a giant vortex that swept up all the aura of death in the cave and brought it all towards him, while loud rumbling sounds echoed in the air, to seep into the wound on his chest. This process lasted for four hours, and once all the aura of death in the cave was absorbed, the wound on Su Ming's chest closed up and could no longer be seen.

However, there was a Bright Yang Stone in his body that forced him to endure constant pain. But this pain… was something Su Ming wanted to get used to!

'When I no longer feel pain, then the destruction Bright Yang Region will bring to me will definitely be reduced. This is the process of reversing the seasons—winter moving towards spring—which is what I have come to understand!

'To move from death to life!'

Su Ming sucked in a sharp breath and closed his eyes. In the mid of the intense pain, he slowly circulated the power in his body to allow it to slowly recover and maintain a balance within him while also suppressing that stone.

He also spread out his divine sense down, towards the depths of the ground. Three days later, he found the Spirit Vein of Thousand River Valley deep within the ground!

Translator's Notes:

1. Directly conflicting with Life: A meek reminder that life + fate = Life, and it came from the idea of birth/natal chart but it has been changed to Life Matrix in PoT.

Anyway, why bring this up?

Because I thought it might sound a little abstract.

Just think of it this way.

(Below is not a very good example, but it's the quickest way to understand this whole 'conflicting against your life' XD, and also related to this whole birth chart/natal chart/Life Matrix thing, only disgustingly simplified)

Let's say we have a Pisces person, who is supposed to be a romantic.

Then she runs into a Sagittarius, who loves freedom and supposedly lacks tact.

A Pisces would like to be coddled and stuff, but the Sagittarius won't be able to give it, because of his personality (which is somehow determined because of his month of birth, lmao)

And the two of them constantly argue because their personalities don't match.

This part where their personalities don't match and you end up constantly arguing is what you mean by saying 'going against your Life', because the Pisces didn't find a person whose birth chart/natal chart/Life Matrix worked with hers.

So here, we have Su Ming, who is from Yin Death Region, and Bright Yang Stone is obviously from Bright Yang Region.

Both come from places that are binary opposites.

And since there is no way binary opposites can work together, that's why the stone is conflicting with Su Ming.

Chapter 638: Great Completion!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was a winding Spirit Vein located underneath Thousand River Valley, but it was scattered all around the place. Perhaps more accurately speaking, this Spirit Vein was incomplete and was in pieces. It was as if the words 'Thousand Rivers' were true for this Spirit Vein as well, in the depths of the ground, for it had split up into a thousand veins there.

Each vein was incredibly weak and barely noticeable, but the power of the world formed right at the end of these thousand veins was still able to make Hidden Dragon Sect take a fancy to this Thousand River Valley. Because of that, they chose this location to set up their branch.

This Spirit Vein that was a crystal vein, which gave birth to the stones called Shaman Crystals among Shamans, Berserker Stones among Berserkers, and spirit stones among Immortals, was the most important reason why Su Ming came to Thousand River Valley, besides looting all the sect's spirit medicine, of course.

Several days later, he opened his eyes in the cave abode. His face was calm and not a single different thing could be detected about him; no one could guess what sort of pain he was going through at that moment.

However, Su Ming knew that he had to get used to this pain and familiarize himself with it!

He stood up slowly, and with one move, disappeared from the cave abode. When he reappeared, he was already in the depths of the ground. As he swam through the earth, he saw a layer of crystalline light before him.

It was a crystal vein that was a hundred something feet long running down a winding path. It appeared as a crystal vein, but when Su Ming swept through it with his divine sense, he felt as if this was a small dragon that was buried in the depths of the ground.

'Let's hope that Hong Luo's Art works.'

A glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. The power he had spent to suppress the Bright Yang Stone during the past ten days had completely recovered, and when it did so, he had discovered to his surprised delight that his cultivation base had increased a little. It might not be much, but it had made his cultivation base reach near nine-tenths in his path towards full recovery from the injuries he had suffered!

It might still be only nearing that amount, but there was only a sliver of distance left before he would have completely recovered nine-tenths of his cultivation base!

'If this Art works, then I will be able to recover to a state where I've never been before in a short period of time, and I will be able to try and reach Berserker Soul Realm!

'If I can reach Berserker Soul Realm…'

A brilliant glint shone in Su Ming's eyes, but when he narrowed his eyes, it slowly disappeared. He took a step towards the crystal vein before him. His body moved through the ground, though at a clearly slower pace than it usually would, because this sort of movement used up a large amount of power. After a moment, when Su Ming appeared by the crystal vein, his eyes flashed with a light. He lifted his right hand and formed a seal. After he changed it nine times, ripples spread out from his body and traveled outwards in all directions.

As it spread out, Su Ming's body slowly began turning indistinct. This kind of state lasted for about a quarter of an hour before Su Ming sat down cross-legged on the crystal vein, and a strange change began gradually showing up on his body, as he remained in that state.

'In truth, this Art to devour a crystal vein came from… the Ten Transfigurations from the Nine Transformations, Ten Transfigurations, One Voice Art! Nine Transformations can increase the strength of any divine ability or skill nine times so that they would reach the limit of their power.

'And Ten Transfigurations is a divine ability that can transform a person. This Ten Transfigurations in Hong Luo's inheritance will only begin the transformation once I fuse into the item I want to change myself into, and once I choose it, I won't be able to turn back.

'The Ten Transfigurations Art allows me to fuse myself into ten different objects… and the first thing I will transform into with my Ten Transfigurations Art is a crystal vein!'

Su Ming's eyes sparkled. When he sat down, his body continuously turning more indistinct, his legs started slowly changing, and crystals started forming on them. They continued spreading up his legs, and an hour later, his whole body looked as if it had turned into a crystal.

In fact, at first glance, Su Ming looked incredibly similar to the crystal vein. Two hours later, he even completely disappeared to be replaced by an extra section protruding out of the crystal vein in the ground!

That extra section was in the shape of a person, but it looked like it was one with the crystal vein and could not be distinguished clearly. Even if there was someone else in this place, they might not be able to see anything wrong with this crystal vein at just one glance either.

This was the Ten Transfigurations Art. It would allow the caster to choose an item he wanted to transform himself into and fuse with it. Once he was successful, he could turn into the exact same thing as the item he had fused with, and not only would their appearance be similar, even their internal structures would also be exactly the same!

Just like now. Su Ming had chosen a crystal vein as his first transfiguration among the ten. And in a few hours, he had successfully turned into a crystal vein. When not a single difference could be detected between them, it allowed the process of him absorbing the spiritual aura from outside his body to turn into devouring the crystal vein from inside.

He was one with the crystal vein, and their fusion existed within their bodies. Time passed, and three days later, the crystal vein started showing signs of drying up. It gradually turned dark as it lost its spiritual aura. Only the extra, human-shaped crystal vein became brighter.

On the fifth day, this part turned indistinct once again and gradually turned back into Su Ming. He no longer looked as weakened as he was before either, but had recovered a little of his vitality.

A large portion of his cultivation base had also been restored!

'I can use this method!'

Su Ming's eyes sparkled, and he disappeared with one move. When he reappeared, he was already on another crystal vein that was a hundred something feet away from where he had been previously. Similar to before, when he touched that crystal vein, he transformed into it and became one with it.

This time, he did not take five days to absorb the vitality, only four, and after these days, the crystal vein turned into dust.

Time passed. As Su Ming continued absorbing the crystal veins while they subsequently turned into dust due to his actions, after a month went by, he managed to reduce the speed of his absorption from five to only one day!

That length of time was also still shrinking. If he continued with this speed, before long, the amount of crystal veins he absorbed in a few days might be equivalent to the amount he had absorbed over the past month.

The increasingly faster pace of absorption was due to Su Ming's growing familiarity with the Art and his own change!

The absorption of the crystal veins during the past month had let Su Ming see hope and filled his face with enthusiasm, because as he continued devouring, he had finally reach nine-tenths of his cultivation base!

Not only did he achieve that, his cultivation base was also still increasing.

He could clearly feel himself becoming stronger with each moment as he continued devouring the crystal veins. This feeling was incredibly addictive, and it also strengthened his ability to suppress the Bright Yang Stone in his body.

One day, two days, three days… the crystal veins behind Su Ming shattered, and when another half a month went by, the amount of time he required to absorb a crystal vein was reduced to only six hours!

As his speed increased, the thousand crystal veins under Thousand River Valley swiftly disappeared, and gradually, the spiritual aura in Thousand River Valley started slowly reducing. This was bound to catch many people's attention.

Yet strangely, no one came to check, causing Su Ming to be unable to use all the attacks he had prepared beforehand. This was something that puzzled him as he continued absorbing the crystal veins.

However, he was at a critical moment at that point, and it was not convenient for him to venture outside to check. The act of absorbing the crystal veins also rendered his connection with Bao Qiu almost non-existent, which was why he could not find out what was going on outside through her.

To him, nothing outside could be as important as him recovering his cultivation base at that moment, so he gradually stopped thinking about it. When two months had passed since the start, Su Ming was sitting on a large crystal vein, and in less than two hours, it shattered into pieces. When he opened his eyes, a piercing, brilliant light flashed in them.

'I've recovered ninety-seven percent of my cultivation base! There's only half a step left for me to reach great completion!' Su Ming did not know how many crystal veins he had absorbed, but by his estimations, he should have devoured nearly a hundred of them.

At that moment, while he needed around two hours to absorb larger crystal veins like the ones he had been sitting on, he only needed a quarter of an hour to absorb the small ones like the one he had chosen at the start.

'If I continue with this speed, then in just another month, I'll be able to recover completely! In fact, if I can increase my speed, I won't even need a month!'

Su Ming's heart pounded against his chest. He might have surpassed the pinnacle of his power when he fought against Di Tian in the past, but his body still had yet to recover fully. There were still some hindrances lying about when he circulated his power. Right then, the hope of full recovery made Su Ming to resist feeling a little excited.

'Di Tian, the injuries I sustained all those years ago were because of you…' Killing intent shone in Su Ming's eyes. When he closed them, he appeared on another crystal vein and began absorbing it.

Three days, five days, seven days, ten days!

When another ten days passed, the number of crystal veins Su Ming absorbed had already surpassed the number of all the crystal veins he had absorbed in the past. There were only a small amount of them left from the thousand that had existed at first. Most of them had already been devoured by Su Ming.

With his speed, he only needed a hundred breaths to be able to reduce a small crystal vein to dust by then.

On the tenth day, Su Ming opened his eyes after devouring the vitality of another vein, which shattered and crumbled under him, at his frightening speed. Right then, an indescribably powerful might swiftly burst forth from Su Ming's body with a loud bang.

His cultivation base continued rising without stop, and as he kept on recovering before eventually reaching complete recovery, the hindrances and obstacles that had existed previously when he circulated his power were now gone. The passages within him were like straight lines, which resulted in him reaching completion!

This was completion in its truest meaning. All his flesh and blood had been turned into that of a true Berserker. Every single inch of his bones had been turned into Berserker Bones. Every drop of his blood shone with a faint golden light, and all his organs, everything within his body, had become perfect at this instant!

Su Ming had a strong hunch that there was only one path before him at that moment, and it was to reach Berserker Soul Realm!

As he examined his body, surprised delight rose in him, but it swiftly turned into uncertainty before a variety of expressions started appearing and taking each other's place on his face.

He could sense that once he reached Berserker Soul Realm, then there was a huge possibility that he would be able to move straight from the initial stage to the middle stage, then the later stage, before he reached great completion in the Berserker Soul Realm!

Because his foundation gave him the right to do so!

However, it also meant that the process of reaching Berserker Soul Realm would be exceedingly difficult. This difficulty might be a hundred times more higher than that of a normal person trying to reach that Realm.

Fortunately for Su Ming, due to the state of his foundation being something that no predecessor of his had ever possessed, even if he failed in trying to reach Berserker Soul Realm, he would not be destroyed like the others. However, he could not fail more than three times. Once he did, then he would still die. This was something Su Ming had come to understand naturally once his cultivation base recovered and his body reached completion.

'Should I go for it, or should I not..?' Su Ming did not have an ounce of confidence in succeeding. After a moment of hesitation, a determined look appeared in his eyes.

'I'll do it!'

Chapter 639: My Soul is in the World!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Even if Su Ming had not made full preparations for this and there was a high possibility that he would fail, he still chose to attempt breaking into the Berserker Soul Realm!

Because the completion Su Ming had gained meant that he would no longer be trying to breakthrough into the normal Berserker Soul Realm, but would be heading straight into the great completion of the Berserker Soul Realm. He would be leaping across a huge Realm!

He could not choose to give up on this. Even if he failed, he would need to have the courage to face failure head-on!

Su Ming's eyes shone and he charged deeper into the ground. When he could no longer determine the distance between him and the surface, and when the pressure from the ground grew to a mighty degree, Su Ming sat down on a crystal vein. There was no earth around him, because it had spread outwards due to the pressure, revealing an empty space of around a hundred something feet wide.

It was quiet there. Not a single sound could be detected. Su Ming closed his eyes while in a meditative position, and as he circulated all his power within him, his Qi began rising nonstop.

The speed of that increase was so great that his Qi reached its pinnacle in an instant, and during that moment, the principles Tian Xie Zi had told his disciples regarding trying to reach Berserker Soul Realm all those years ago reverberated in Su Ming's head.

The main idea of Berserker Soul lay in the soul. It was the great completion of the Berserker Mark. A Berserker needed to activate the power of all his Berserker Bones in his body to stimulate his Berserker Mark. Then, once it gained physical form, it would become a soul! That soul would be able to communicate with the world, allow the person to use the power of the world, and allow them to go through a change in nature!

It could also be called a metamorphosis of the soul!

A Berserker Mark's transformation into a soul would gather up the Berserker's will and all his Qi as well as blood inheritance to form his own statue of the God of Berserkers. Then, with the statue as a reflection of themselves, they would be able to enter Berserker Soul Realm after fusing with it!

'Dark Mountain is my mark… and the ninth summit is also part of my mark!' Su Ming's Berserker Mark formed on his face, and the ninth summit's mark also manifested on his body. The grass, plants, houses, and everything else were reflected clearly on him.

A Berserker Mark was born from the heart and shown on the body. It was the entirety of a person's heart and soul!

"Dark Mountain is my soul," Su Ming mumbled. Immediately, the mountain that seemed to possess five fingers on his face twisted and gradually appeared behind him, as if it had turned into a mountain that was buried underground!

"The ninth summit is my spirit." Right before Su Ming's eyes, Tian Xie Zi, second senior brother, eldest senior brother, Hu Zi… and everything else in the ninth summit showed up.

With a bang, the ninth summit manifested in front of him. It was positioned directly opposite of the Dark Mountain behind him, and both mountains stirred up a series of loud bangs in the depths of the ground.

"My Berserker Soul is my eternal connection with Dark Mountain… and my everlasting gratitude towards ninth summit!" Su Ming lifted his hands and waved them, with a bright light shining in his eyes.

He felt as if could see his elder and everything within Dark Mountain, could even hear the faint moaning sounds of the xun in his ears, bringing with it an air of sadness and desolation, but at the same time, he also saw the setting sun on the ninth summit.

All of these things gradually fused together before his eyes, and once they overlapped with each other, he could no longer see clearly. Faint cracking sounds rang in his head, as if some sort of seal within him begun to break at that instant!

"Destiny will be my sky."

As Su Ming mumbled softly, the rumbling sounds from the depths of the ground reverberated once again, and the earth all around him started trembling. Right above him, an infant's shadow appeared, but that shadow continuously changed, occasionally turning into a young man with purple hair, and the murderous aura, as well as the aura of death, around him surged into the sky. It was so strong that it made the ground tremble without stop, as if even the earth itself was afraid of this illusory shadow.

"My soul is in the world!"

Su Ming moved his arms swiftly, and his divine sense spread outwards with his movements, fusing into the Dark Mountain, the ninth summit, and Destiny. With his will as the center and his soul as the bond gathering them together, Dark Mountain, ninth summit, and Destiny's shadow slowly approached each other, and they began showing signs of fusing!

Su Ming started trembling. He could feel that the power pulling these three things closer and fusing them together was the Berserker power stored in all his blood and flesh as well as his Berserker Bones. With everything in his body, he was slowly fusing the three things together.

Once the fusion was complete and the three became one in soul, then it would mean that Su Ming had finished his first step in trying to reach Berserker Soul Realm! The next step would then be a reflection of that soul by forming a statue of the God of Berserkers and activating the world in his body [1] so that he would enter Berserker Soul Realm!

Forget even the second step, the first step alone was already incredibly difficult for Su Ming. He had already made all his power erupt from his body, but he still could not make the three objects fuse together quickly. He could only make them slowly become one.

In fact, he had a constant feeling that he seemed to be lacking something, but he just could not tell what it was that he lacked.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, six hours went by. Su Ming's entire body was drenched in sweat, and his face was pale, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered. The cracking sounds in his head were becoming more frequent, and the feeling as if a seal was being broken became even more distinct.

He had a strong hunch that once the seal in his mind was broken, then the inheritance Hong Luo had left behind of his Path to Life would completely surge out, and a part of Su Ming's own sealed memories would be activated. He would then be able to see all that had been buried within him!

Almost at the instant Su Ming tried fusing the three objects together and the seal in his mind continued breaking, the spiritual aura in Thousand River Valley started turning chaotic, and the weather in the sky also changed. Thunder rumbled above, and rain would occasionally pour down. At other times, snow would fall, and sometimes dark clouds would sink down as well.

These changes in the weather caused all the Evil Spirit Sect members in Thousand River Valley to feel shocked, and all of them lifted their heads to look.

'These are… the signs of a Berserker trying to reach Berserker Soul Realm!'

Shen Dong lifted his head and stared at the sky with an incredibly grave expression on his face. He could tell that this was not just any normal procedure of a Berserker trying to reach Berserker Soul Realm. This was just the beginning, and it had already caused this amount of change in the sky. By the looks of it, these changes would only become stronger as time passed.

In a mountain range in Eastern Wastelands that was located an unknown amount of distance from Su Ming was an endless amount of great halls standing erect on each of the mountains!

The buildings here seemed endless, and there were even more than a hundred palaces floating in the sky. Each of them shone with a piercing light, and from the distance, a person who saw them would discover to their amazement that there was a giant sword stabbed into the ground right at the center of this area. That sword was a hundred thousand feet tall, and sword aura was seeping out of its entire body to cover a circular area of several lis.

On the sword's hilt was a golden palace, and the light shining from it made it seem as if it was a golden sun!

This was where Great Leaf Immortal Sect's headquarters were located in the land of Berserkers!

At the same time these changes in the weather occurred, there were two people sitting directly opposite each other in that golden palace. These two people were different in shape and form, but their clothes were the exactly the same. They were both wearing an Emperor's robe and crown. They both possessed an aloof presence, and their expressions were cold.

One of them was dressed in a golden robe, and the other in a purple robe. The color might be different, but they were both Emperor's robes, and the presences from both their bodies were astonishingly similar.

If Su Ming saw that person in purple robes, he would definitely be able to tell with just one glance that this was the Di Tian that had fought against him in the Dead Sea island!

The person in golden robes… was also Di Tian!

These two people were the two clones Di Tian had sent into the land of Berserkers!

At the instant Su Ming tried reaching Berserker Soul Realm and the seal in his mind showed signs of breaking, the Di Tian in purple robes opened his eyes, and a surprised glare shone in the. He looked outside the palace swiftly and a frown appeared between his brows.

"I can feel his seal breaking…"

"I can't find where he's hiding!" The person who said these words was the clone in golden robes, once he also opened his eyes.

"He has already left our control…"

"Our real self already knows about this, but he still hasn't sent his will to us. He seems to be hesitating."

"Our plans over these numerous years have gone off track because of Hong Luo. This is a crime so great for the royal blood in the land of Immortals that even death cannot pardon their sins!"

"His seal is breaking. It should be caused by him trying to reach Berserker Soul Realm… We cannot let him succeed!"

"Our real self hasn't sent his will over. We can just act according to the original will which he gave to us. The seal that has been placed on him by our real self over the countless reincarnations won't be so easily broken…"

As the two clones spoke calmly, the Di Tian in purple robes lifted his right hand and pressed his palm at the center of his brows. After a moment, when he lifted his hand, he brought out a greenish black stone from within his body.

An incredibly dense aura of death spread out from that stone. The aura of death surrounding it made it seem as if the stone had gathered the essence of hell on itself. It looked similar to the Bright Yang Stone, but its presence was completely different!

And more importantly, there was a picture on that stone, and it formed the contour of a person… who looked vaguely like Su Ming!

"He does not dare show up and reveal himself before me. He no longer dares fight against me and stayed hidden for many years… I might still be unable to find him… but I can make the seal placed on him stronger!" the Di Tian in purple robes said calmly and lifted his left hand before straightening it and pressing his palm swiftly on that greenish black stone. With it, the aura of death on the stone trembled.

At the same time, a violent shudder wrecked Su Ming's body as he was meditating under the endless depths of Thousand River Valley while fusing Dark Mountain, ninth summit, and Destiny together into a soul while the seal in his mind continued breaking.

A sharp stab of pain erupted from his mind, and that pain caused his eyes to instantly become bloodshot. It was as if a wave of power had appeared out of nowhere and caused the seal in his mind to become stronger in a heartbeat. The signs of it breaking instantly vanished.

The pain came too suddenly, causing Su Ming's body to tremble, and the three objects that were fusing into a soul before him immediately started showing signs of dissipating before crumbling with a bang.

Once that happened, Dark Mountain vanished, ninth summit disappeared, and Destiny was also gone without a trace. All these things returned into Su Ming's body once again, causing him to fail in his attempt to reach Berserker Soul Realm…

Su Ming coughed up a mouthful of blood. As his face turned pale, he endured the sharp pain in his mind and lifted his head swiftly. Red filled his eyes, and a crazed killing intent raged wildly within them.

"Di Tian!"

The murderous intent within Su Ming's voice caused murderous aura to rise from him and surge into the sky. His will to kill Di Tian reached its pinnacle.

At that moment, an incredibly powerful will burst forth within Su Ming's mind.

'I'll kill Di Tian!'

This was the first time the thought of killing Di Tian had appeared Su Ming's mind, he no longer thought of hiding and dodging his oppressor!

Translator's Note:

1. Body as world: Is what I believe is related to the idea of body as cosmos in Taoism/Daoism. Here is a link, just scroll to "Body and Cosmos"