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Chapter 740: Devastation!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Dao Slave 21 let out a cold harrumph and took a step forward. He was confident that he could definitely kill these two people with his next strike! Almost the moment he moved forward, Dao Yuan flew out from behind him and charged towards Su Ming.

"Dao Slave, move back, I'll do this personally! Didn't you want to kill me just now? I'll have a taste of your woman right in front of your face, and I'll make sure you see it!" As Dao Yuan laughed maniacally, he closed in on the pair. As for Su Ming and Yu Xuan, they were already close to the Rune around the ninth summit.

Dao Slave 21 paused in his movements and let his young master fly past him towards Su Ming and Yu Xuan. Yet at the moment Dao Yuan lifted his right hand to seize Yu Xuan, a great presence that filled the hearts of all those who felt with shock and fear suddenly erupted from over there.

The strength of that presence was so great that it caused the world to quiver and an endless amount of whirlpools to appear in the sea. It made the sky tremble as it quivered, and even the yellow light as well as the three Dao Slaves that were fighting against it felt their hearts tremble.

"This is your Grandpa Crane's territory! I was taking a nap here, and you dare to come and offend me?! Begone!" A voice filled with a mighty pressure came from the ninth summit with an intensity that shook the sky and earth.

Not only did this powerful presence cause the hearts of the three Dao Slaves to shudder at the instant it appeared, it also shocked Dao Yuan, who was about to execute a divine ability to kill Su Ming, and Dao Yuan 21.

"This is… This is Solar Kalpa's [1] presence!"

Dao Yuan 21's expression changed drastically. He did not have time to think. He seized Dao Yuan, who was stunned with fear, and turned into a long arc that charged backwards.

Dao Yuan screamed. As he shuddered, shock and terror appeared on his face.

"Solar Kalpa's presence! There's no doubt about this! This is a great cultivator who has reached Solar Kalpa Realm! He's only one step away from reaching Plane Kalpa!"

Dao Slave 21's face turned stark pale. His mind was in a mess. He had not expected… to run into such a dangerous situation in the land of Berserkers.

But at that moment, a hint of doubt rose in his heart. He immediately lifted his right hand, and a resolute look appeared on his face. An item appeared on his palm, and he crushed it.

It was a green medicinal core. At the instant the Dao Slave crushed it, a shocking boom swiftly spread out.

As that sound reverberated in the air, the world trembled. A wave of ripples spread out towards the area, but there was not a great amount of lethal force within those ripples. Instead, the green light shining from within simply spread out and covered a circular area of several hundreds of lis.

Dao Slave 21 stared at that green light and watched it cover those hundreds of lis. His face remained unchanged for a moment before a strange emotion mixed with anger took over.

"You're not a cultivator in Solar Kalpa Realm! Young Master, there is no cultivator in Solar Kalpa Realm here, that is just a Dao Illusion Art!"

Once Dao Slave 21 roared those words out, he no longer retreated. Instead, he charged once again towards Su Ming and Yu Xuan. Dao Yuan was momentarily stunned by his side. He knew that the medicinal core his slave had used was Morning Dao Sect's Kalpa Seeking Core. That core could test whether there was any power that belonged to Plane Kalpas within a region, and it could also determine whether there was anyone who had reached Plane Kalpa Realm in that area.

If its color changed, it meant that there was someone with the power of Plane Kalpa around, or it could be that there was simply some power that belonged to Plane Kalpas in the area. Yet the medicinal core had spread out to several hundreds of lis just now, but the color did not change, which could only mean that… no matter what he'd felt when the presence moments ago had spread out, there was no one with the power of Plane Kalpa Realm in this place. That was the truth.

Once Dao Yuan registered this, he fumed in rage and exasperation before charging back towards Su Ming and Yu Xuan, whose consciousness was already muddled at that point. He was so quick that he arrived in the blink of an eye and even roared at them.

"How dare you lie to me?! I'll kill all of you with my hands one by one! Dao Slave 21, protect me! Watch as I crush their bones and scatter their ashes!"

Dao Yuan charged forward. He closed in on Su Ming And Yu Xuan, then lifted his right hand, about to seize Su Ming, but at that moment, furious roars came from the hundred li Rune.

They were immediately followed by shadows of people flying out.

Those were… the people who now lived in the ninth summit. They had chosen to die in battle to protect the ninth summit as well as Su Ming.

At the moment of crisis, they rushed out without any hesitation. The person at the very front of the crowd was an old man. He had already reached Berserker Soul Realm, but his level was not high. At the instant he walked out, he charged towards Dao Yuan without a care for his own life in an attempt to stop him from killing Su Ming and Yu Xuan.

"You're just asking for death!"

Dao Yuan let out a shrill screech. He changed the direction of his right hand to punch the old man's body, but at the instant his fist was about to touch him, a bizarre smile appeared on the old man's face and his body exploded with a bang.

As he exploded, his cultivation base erupted, and the waves of power that burst forth charged towards Dao Yuan. Blood gushed into the air and splashed all over the area. A large amount of it fell on Su Ming and Yu Xuan's bodies. Su Ming's consciousness was about to completely fade away due to his injuries, but when the body fell on him, thick bloody lines immediately appeared in his eyes.

His consciousness quickly returned to his body. He trembled. In his ears, he heard the old man's laughter before he died.

"Sir Su Ming, I've been under the care of the ninth summit for many years! Now, I will use my death to repay your kindness!"

As the old man died, one person after another charged out of the Rune. Some of them even grabbed Su Ming and Yu Xuan to drag them back into the Rune.

One after another, these people charged out. One after another, the rumbles from self-destructions shot up into the air, affecting Dao Yuan. The roars from those explosions continued, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten people had chosen self-destruction.

"Sir Su Ming, I, Chen, am here to repay your kindness!"

"Sir Su, I, Xu, will repay your kindness with my death today!"

"I will repay your kindness with my death! Sir Su Ming, if we reincarnate, let us meet again in our next lives!"

One after another, long strings of laughter before their owners' deaths rang in the air. More and more people rushed out and chose self-destruction to hold Dao Yuan back and save Su Ming. All of this brought Su Ming's consciousness back. He… regained his senses, but he could not summon even a single bit of power. His injuries left him at death's door.

His eyes turned red. He could only watch these people die, hear them declare their intention to repay his kindness. As his body trembled, he let out a hoarse roar.

More people flew past him. Among them were the elderly and the young. These were his people who lived in the ninth summit. At that moment, they were using blood and self-destruction to complete the promise they had made when they were allowed to stay in the ninth summit.

To protect the summit, even if they died.

Tears fell from Yu Xuan's eyes. She watched all of this with a blank stare, looked at these people dying, heard their voices as well as Su Ming's hoarse roars. More and more tears fell from her eyes.

Dao Yuan was forcefully held back and could only watch as Su Ming and Yu Xuan were dragged back into the Rune. In his anger, Dao Slave 21 took a step forward and lifted his right hand before swinging it in front of himself aloofly. Immediately, a large number of the people who had rushed out of the Rune crumbled before they could self-destruct.

The hundred li Rune also started trembling violently. Once Dao Slave 21 closed in on it and struck it with his palm, the starlight that erupted from his hand caused the Rune to begin collapsing again.

As it collapsed and Dao Slave 21 continued to attack, the hundred li Rune shrank to eighty lis, sixty lis, forty lis… Dao Slave 21's expression was cold and aloof as he continued to destroy the Rune and slaughtered all the people who flew out from the ninth summit.

Dao Yuan was behind him. His face was filled with bloodthirst as he charged forward excitedly.

Su Ming and Yu Xuan were held by four residents of the ninth summit within the Rune, and these people were charging forward desperately, intending to send the two of them back to the ninth summit. Tears fell from their eyes as they listened to the booming sounds ringing in their ears. They knew full well what they meant. With each rumble, not only did the Rune collapse a little bit more, a number of their comrades also died.

When the Rune collapsed to only ten lis, the four people holding onto Su Ming and Yu Xuan let out a roar in unison and pushed Yu Xuan as well as Su Ming in the direction of the ninth summit before turning around and choosing to self-destruct. There was no hint of hesitation in their actions. As the four of them exploded at the same time, the explosion and the stirred up rumbles charged towards Dao Slave 21, who had instantly closed in on them.

Yet to Dao Slave 21, these four people's explosions were nothing. He shot through without care and stretched out his hand towards Su Ming and Yu Xuan's bodies, like a cat toying with a mouse.

Yet at the instant he was about to catch them, more than a hundred people flew out and charged past Su Ming and Yu Xuan's bodies. They blocked Dao Slave 21's path forward, while another three people caught hold of Su Ming and Yu Xuan began to swiftly drag them backwards.

Su Ming's heart bled. His hoarse roars were reverberating in the air… but he could not make even a single bit of his cultivation base stir. His injuries were too grave, so grave that if he had not been in Life Cultivation Realm, he would have already died.

Even if his body was continuously recovering, the speed of its recovery could not match up to the rate of it being destroyed. At that moment, there were rays of starlight that were continuously destroying all signs of his life.

Blood continued seeping out from his wounds.

Yu Xuan felt the same way as he. Besides tears, only despair seemed to remain on her dazed face.

Su Ming could only watch these people who were shielding him and blocking Dao Slave 21's path be instantly enveloped in starlight. There were no screams, no rumbles. There was only blood and flesh flying in the air once the starlight faded away.

All of them died…

Su Ming was not too familiar with these people. He had only saved them when he killed Si Ma Xin all those years ago and let them treat the ninth summit as their home, yet on this day, they used their lives to repay his kindness.

However, this so called kindness he'd showed was nothing to Su Ming, while the deeds they did to repay it were too great!

The three people holding onto Su Ming and Yu Xuan were weeping as they rushed away. They were already less than ten thousand feet away from the ninth summit, but even so, what could they do after they closed this distance? Under Dao Slave 21's moderately paced execution of his divine abilities, under that power which they could not hope to stand against after Su Ming had lost his power… everything seemed to have already been set in stone and could not change.

However, in this situation where things could no longer change, Su Ming saw just how importantly people regarded kindness. Even if they knew it was useless, they still continued to give away their lives for him.

This made tears of blood flow from Su Ming's eyes.

Translator's Notes:

1. Solar Kalpa: Full name is Plane Kalpa's Yang. Solar Kalpa would be after World Planes.

Chapter 741: Three Seals!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When the three people tossed Su Ming and Yu Xuan to the ninth summit, they rushed back straight towards the incoming Dao Slave 21. In the midst of the booming sounds that signaled death, Su Ming let out the shrillest roar in his life.

As he roared, Dao Slave 21 walked out of the blood mist caused by the trio's self-destruction with an aloof face. Dao Yuan had an excited expression on his face as he followed right after.

At that moment, Su Ming and Yu Xuan were still five thousand feet away from the ninth summit, but it was useless. Even if they managed to reach the ninth summit, it was useless… In Yu Xuan's ears echoed her mother's voice. As that voice rang, her mind gradually came out of it muddle state, and she looked at Su Ming.

"Do you know why I'm called Yu Xuan..? The meaning for Xuan is daylily, and it is a type of flower that forgets sadness. I'm a daylily in the rain. This is the name my mother gave me. She wanted me to forget sadness in my life and be happy forever… My mother is calling me now. I'll be leaving to reunite with my mother… Before I leave, I'll give you a gift."

A smile appeared on her face. That smile was incredibly sincere and beautiful. She looked at Su Ming and held him gently as she kissed his blood-stained lips.

At the instant her lips touched Su Ming's, a wave of Abyss Death Aura moved from her mouth into Su Ming's body and fused with his soul. The aura turned into a roar inside Su Ming, and he felt as if his soul began to boil.

Yet as it happened, Yu Xuan's lips became colder. Gradually, the sparkle in her eyes disappeared completely, leaving behind only dullness.

"This time, I really suffered a huge loss… but I'm really happy… to have gotten to know you." Yu Xuan released her grip, and her body plunged to the ground.

Su Ming felt as if his soul was burning. Waves of pain washed over him, but he could sense that his soul was madly swelling up. This feeling was enough to drive him mad. It was as if his blood had been awakened and as if his soul was going through a metamorphosis. During that moment, a feeling of strength came along with the pain, and it was increasing at a frenzied pace.

Su Ming did not know what Yu Xuan had given to him, but he did know that it was what his soul had been lacking. The breath she gave him was familiar somehow, and it was something seemed to have completed his soul.

The instant Abyss' Awakening erupted in Su Ming's soul, intense pain submerged him. He roared shrilly from it. He extended his arm without any hesitation grabbed the hand of Yu Xuan, who had now lost her consciousness and who was uncertain to survive this. It was as if Su Ming wanted to take hold of Yu Xuan's body and save it from plunging to the ground.

Yet Dao Slave 21 had already moved towards him. His lifted right hand was shining with starlight. Right at the instant it was about to land on Su Ming, a person walked out from the distortions within the five thousand feet behind Su Ming. It was… Bai Su.

She was dressed in white and was incredibly beautiful. There was a smile on her face, and within her smile as well as her gaze was a wild beauty. She moved past Su Ming and rushed towards Dao Slave 21 like a moth having seen a flame.

At that instant, the presence of self-destruction surrounded her body. That presence was like the water from the river in the sky spilling onto the ground, just like her Life…

"I can, too…" These were the final words Bai Su said before she self-destructed. As she spoke, a loud boom that surged into the sky reverberated in the air before Su Ming.

As those booms roared, Su Ming watched Bai Su disappear, and he went mad.

A white piece of fabric fell back and moved past his side as the shockwaves from the explosion spread out. He wanted to grab it… but he did not manage to. The white piece of fabric flew farther and farther away. He wanted to grab it… but he would have to let go of Yu Xuan's hand to do so.

He wanted to grab it… but that white piece of fabric flew farther and farther. His grip on Yu Xuan's hand gradually lost strength, because the intense pain spreading through his soul was unbearable. It was a feeling as if his soul was about to erupt, a crazed feeling as if he was about to awaken.

When Yu Xuan's hand slipped out of Su Ming's grip because he had lost his strength, her body plunged to the ground. Her eyes remained closed through it all, and Su Ming descended into madness, his eyes weeping tears of blood.

He pressed his palms against his head, not hiding his red eyes, and roared like a wild beast howling in despair. It was also at that instant that the yellow dragon in the sky let out a shrill roar. It charged towards the ground. At that moment, it could no longer bother about the three Dao Slaves. There was only one thought remaining in its head - to catch Yu Xuan.

Its body swept through the air and charged to the ground. At the instant Yu Xuan was to hit the ground, the dragon caught her on its back. A shrill roar came from its mouth. A large amount of Abyss Death Aura erupted from its body and surged into that of Yu Xuan. At the same time, a layer of distortions appeared in the space before the yellow dragon, as if the entrance to another world had been forcefully opened due to the World Traversing Abyss Dragon's inborn divine ability.

It wanted to take its young master and leave the place. Its face was filled with grief, because it could sense that no matter how much Abyss Aura it sent into its young master's body, she was still moving slowly towards death.

The three Dao Slaves in the sky charged towards the dragon, causing Dao Yuan to become even more arrogant and unbridled. Dao Slave 21 let out a cold harrumph and moved past the region where Bai Su had exploded to appear right in front of Su Ming. With an aloof look on his face, he pointed at Su Ming with his right hand through the air. Immediately, a large amount of starlight spread out from his hand. That starlight instantly enveloped Su Ming's body.

With a loud bang, Su Ming was torn to pieces. Only his right hand was left. When his hand flew out, it was pushed backwards by the impact brought by his body's destruction and caught up with the white piece of fabric that was floating farther and farther into the distance. He caught it.

Of his left arm, only one finger remained, and it fell on the yellow dragon's body as it traveled above the surface of the sea, carrying Yu Xuan.

Su Ming thought he died, because at that moment, he could sense that his soul had scattered into the world. He could see his right hand seizing that white piece of fabric. He could see his left index finger landing beside Yu Xuan's body.

He could also see his eldest senior brother's statue within his Master's cave abode at the top of the ninth summit. He could see his second senior brother meditating as well as Hu Zi snoring. He could see all of these things.

He could see the four Dao Slaves and Dao Yuan as well. He could sense their presence.

Besides seeing these things, for the first time, he sensed three black spots that were different from his soul within himself. Three different waves of consciousness were spreading out of the three black spots. It was as if he had three other people's souls within his own.

The three people's souls looked as if they had fused with his soul… turning into the final three seals.

There were already no distinctions between these three seals and his soul. It would have been difficult to separate them under normal circumstances… but that breath of Abyss Death Aura Yu Xuan had passed to Su Ming before she closed her eyes had caused his soul to boil… and it had either gained completion, or changed.

It allowed his soul to sense the three seals. At the instant Su Ming detected the three seals, three raspy and old voices appeared in his mind.

"I thought that you would never be able to sense us, that Hong Luo was just an accident."

"Scatter your mind, let us leave. We will no longer be your seal. You will also no longer be the cage that locks the three of us."

"The three of us will leave and help you live through this disaster. The three of us will leave, and we will make it be so that you will no longer be sealed."

"Scatter your mind. Don't you want to take revenge? Don't you want to kill these people on your own? Don't you want to protect your ninth summit..?"

"Scatter your mind. The three of us will help fulfill your wish."

"Scatter your mind. The woman called Bai Su might have died, but her body is special. She is not a Berserker. Her soul is just a projection. If you scatter your mind, I can let you see… where her true body lies."

"Scatter your mind. For you, for us… We have been sealed for far too long. You have also been sealed for far too long. Why don't… we part ways now?"

The three old voices reverberated in Su Ming's consciousness and lingered for a long time.

At the same time, in the midst of those roars, the five thousand feet Rune around the ninth summit crumbled completely, revealing the ninth summit before Dao Yuan and the four Dao Slaves.

At that moment, only the trembling Qian Chen and the similarly shivering bald crane remained on the mountain.

"And here I was wondering what sort of good stuff was hidden here. It's just a piece of trash and a bald crane. Dao Slave 31, 41, 51, go and immediately flatten this mountain. There's a cave abode at the top. Open it and check what sort of treasure is inside. Dao Slave 21, go down and bring that woman to me. Even if she's almost dead, I want to get a taste. Don't let them escape."

Dao Yuan's lips curled up in a cold sneer. He pointed at the ninth summit, and when he opened his mouth, the three Dao Slaves turned into three long arcs that charged towards the top of the mountain.

As for Dao Slave 21, he took a step towards the Abyss Dragon that was desperately sending Abyss Death Aura into Yu Xuan to save her on the surface of the sea while remaining completely defenseless.

The area before the Abyss Dragon distorted, slowly tearing apart to reveal a crack. However, Dao Slave 21 was traveling at a speed so quick that he could stop it before the Abyss Dragon could move into the crack.

Yet right when the four Dao Slaves split up and charged forward, a mighty pressure that had gathered from all directions in the world suddenly erupted in the air.

This pressure appeared incredibly suddenly, and almost at the instant it did so, the four Dao Slaves' expressions changed drastically. Right then, the space before Dao Slave 21 distorted, and a shadow manifested in front of him.

That shadow was indistinct. He looked like an old man, but if anyone took a closer look, they would find that he might be a young man. The shadows of these two appearances overlapped and gave off an incredibly bizarre feeling.

"You-you aren't dead?" Dao Slave 21 eyes went wide. The shadow of the young man was naturally Su Ming, whom he had killed just moments ago.

At the instant Dao Slave 21 saw Su Ming, not only did his expression change, his heart also filled with shock. During that instant, the mighty pressure that spread out from Su Ming's body filled him with apprehension.

Chapter 742: Daylily

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Su Ming lifted his head, and a ghastly smile appeared on his lips, but if anyone took a closer look, they would find that the person who smiled was not actually him. Instead, it belonged to the old man whose shadow had overlapped with his.

At the instant the smile appeared, Su Ming lifted his right hand and moved to seize Dao Slave 21. The man's expression changed, and with a wave of his arm, starlight instantly surrounded his body. The power that belonged to the Third Step erupted forth, but…

The endless starlight looked as if it had turned incorporeal before Su Ming, for it moved through his body. Yet Su Ming's right hand did not stop moving and grabbed Dao Slave 21.

His expression changed. In shock, he quickly retreated. During that instant, Su Ming opened his mouth and spoke languidly with that bizarre smile still on his lips.

"Bloody Sun!"

Once he said these words, Dao Slave 21's body immediately turned red, and an illusory blood-red sun appeared around him. Dao Slave 21 coughed up blood, then noticed that it was difficult for him to retreat. As he was filled with fear, his body was swept towards Su Ming, and Su Ming grabbed his throat with his right hand.

"Half a step into Solar Kalpa!"

Dao Slave 21 let out a shrill scream, but this voice quickly fell silent. Once Su Ming seized his throat with his right hand, Dao Slave 21's body immediately become redder. Within the span of a breath, a large amount of blood erupted from his body. Moment after, Dao Slave 21 turned into a bloodless, dry corpse held by Su Ming.

He had breathed his last and died. At first, he had been toying with Su Ming like a cat toying with a mouse, but on that path, he'd walked straight to his death.

Su Ming relaxed his grip and flung his arm outwards. The blood that Dao Slave 21 had coughed up gathered together, turning into a blood-red mirror before Su Ming.

As the surface of the mirror distorted, a galaxy and a cultivation planet appeared. There was an elegant tower in that cultivation planet, and within that tower was a woman in white. She was looking into the distance with a blank expression, and there was an absent-minded look on her face.

Her face was identical to that of Bai Su!

"I fulfilled my promise." Once these words tumbled out of Su Ming's mouth, a ray of blood-red light flew out of his body and turned into a bloody sun in midair before charging into the distance.

All of this happened too quickly, so Dao Slave 21 had turned into a dry corpse by the time Dao Yuan and his three Dao Slaves could react.

Dao Yuan's pupils shrank. He let out a piercing scream from his shock and swiftly retreated. The three Dao Slaves could no longer bother with going to the ninth summit and charged straight at Su Ming.

At that moment, the old man's shadow was no longer overlapping with Su Ming's body. Su Ming was the only one remaining in midair. He did not bother about the three Dao Slaves rushing towards him, but turned his head around and looked at the surface of the sea. Once the crack in the air tore open, the Abyss Dragon charged into it with a roar while carrying Yu Xuan.

Her eyes were still shut and she lay unmoving on the Abyss Dragon's back. Su Ming watched her disappear into the crack, and a mischievous young woman who would call him 'little dummy Su' with a grin appeared in his eyes.

"Little dummy Su!"

"You're not answering me, so I'm reducing one medicinal core."

"Little dummy Su, that big fish in the sea is really pretty, catch one for me."

"Little Su, why don't you call me big sister? Come on, hurry up, call me big sister…"

"Little Su Su, that Dead Sea Giant just glared at me. Go hit it."

"Dumb Dumb Su Su, that sunlight is too vicious, hold an umbrella for me…"

While he was dazed, overlapping shadows appeared on his body again. This time, it was no longer the same old man, but a bald one. He was incredibly big and tall. Once his shadow overlapped with Su Ming, he looked at the three Dao Slaves with a ferocious smile.

As for Su Ming, his head remained turned in the direction of the crack on the sea as he watched it gradually disappear. He also listened to the Abyss Dragon's sad roars as it left.

"Do you know why I'm known as Yu Xuan..?"

"The meaning for Xuan is daylily. I am a daylily in the rain… This is the name my mother gave me. She wanted me to forget the sadness in my life and be happy forever…"

"I'll give you a gift..."

Su Ming's eyes became wet, but he was just a soul. He… had no body.

"You could have left." As Su Ming mumbled, Bai Su's smile when she turned her head back rose in his eyes. That smile was incredibly beautiful, and with a reluctance to part, she gradually left into the distance.

At that moment, the big man whose shadow had overlapped with Su Ming's body moved with a savage smile and appeared right before the three Dao Slaves. When he lifted his right hand, a ray of green light erupted from his body. That light turned into a green sun, causing the world to lose all other colors. At that instant, shrill screams of pain came from the three Dao Slaves' mouths.

As two consecutive bangs reverberated in the air, Dao Slaves 31 and 41, these two mighty warriors in the Third Step dressed in Constellation Robes… started melting right before Su Ming and swiftly turned into ashes. Clearly, everything about their bodies had burned under the green sun.

The last slave, Dao Slave 51, started retreating quickly as if he had gone mad. A large amount of cracks appeared on his body, and green smoke spread out from him. There was a sense of death coming from all over his body.

He withdrew back to Dao Yuan's side, grabbed the trembling young master, and fled into the distance.

The shadow of the big man who had overlapped with Su Ming turned into a wisp of green smoke and flew out before fusing with the green sun in midair. He turned his head around and cast Su Ming a glance. With a loud, boisterous laugh, he charged to the sky, and by using some unknown method, he disappeared.

"The last is me…"

A hoarse voice reverberated within Su Ming's illusory body. The shadow of a middle-aged man with white hair overlapped with him, and he lifted his right hand and pointed at Dao Yuan as well as Dao Slave 51.

With it, Dao Slave 51 let out a shrill scream of pain. Moths crawled out from his body. In the blink of an eye, Dao Slave 51's body turned into an innumerable amount of moths.

These moths flapped their wings and turned into a round ball in midair that resembled a sun. It then charged towards Dao Yuan.

The proud young master trembled. Despair appeared on his face, but in the face of it, madness rose within him after his mind and soul broke down. He lifted his right hand and pointed at the sky.

"With my orders as Dao Yuan, with my Sacred Constellation Robe as a guide, all…"

Before he could finish speaking, the sun that formed by the moths closed in on him, yet a wave of Yin Death Aura descended from the sky and landed on the moth sun, removing it from existence.

Because of it, Dao Yuan finished his words without being interrupted.

"...all those who wear my Subsidiary Constellation Robe, descend to the land of Berserkers!"

Once his words were spoken, the Constellation Robe on his body shone with starlight that surged into the sky, filling it with stars in an instant. The starry sky turned into a spinning, giant galactical vortex, and the faint outlines of longships could be seen charging to the place.

"It's not that I didn't keep my promise, but there is someone who doesn't want me helping you. He wants these people to descend, and he has opened the path for them. This person's level of cultivation… is much higher than mine… He has an ancient presence." The white-haired man turned into an illusory moth and left Su Ming's body before disappearing into the sky.

"I didn't manage to fulfill my promise to you. If you manage to walk out of this place and return your soul to your body, then I will help you one more time…"

Chapter 743: The Will of Autumn

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As those illusory moths disappeared into the sky, Su Ming lifted his head. He saw the boundless starry sky rotating above, as well as longships charging forward. All of these longships were black, and all of them had dozens of people in Constellation Robes standing within them.

Dao Yuan laughed arrogantly at the surface of the sea in the distance. The Sacred Constellation Robe on his body was shining with a brilliant, dark-colored light, and it turned into a compact defense around his body.

Su Ming averted his gaze from the sky and looked at the spot where Yu Xuan had left, then at the space where Bai Su had disappeared. He looked at the lonely ninth summit and the endless broken limbs floating on the surface of the sea.

"They all died…" Su Ming mumbled.

His body was no longer corporeal but had become so faded away that he was almost transparent. Grief appeared on his face. He no longer bothered with Dao Yuan or the various longships descending from the sky at that moment. He lifted his feet and moved slowly towards the ninth summit.

Fatigue, disappointment, and grief filled Su Ming's heart and soul. He returned to the ninth summit and stopped right outside his Master's cave abode.

Even at that moment, Su Ming came to stand as the wall that protected the ninth summit.

He grabbed the killing sword with his illusory right hand, placing it diagonally so the tip of was facing his lower right. The blade was stable, but the tip of the sword was trembling slightly due to its spirit. It was thirsting for blood and looking forward to killing.

Su Ming stood silently. His hair was like a ball of flame that would never be extinguished no matter how hard wind blew against it. He stood there, releasing his spirit. At that instant, he seemed to have truly become one with the ninth summit.

One person. One sword. A protection.

His body was illusory. There was not a single ripple of power within him. The only thing that remained was the power of his soul. That soul could be said to be his Atman, a form of divine sense, and also Su Ming's undying and imperishable will, which was, by then, the only thing that remained of him.

He looked at the sky, and a small smile gradually appeared on his lips. However, there was no hint of carefreeness with it. Instead, it was filled with sadness.

In silence, Qian Chen came up to Su Ming's side with gritted teeth even though his body was trembling. He brought out a black knife from his bosom. He was incredibly afraid, so terrified that his body was trembling nonstop. Sweat poured down his body… but true courage was fearlessness when a person was in the face of danger. It was also a form of will that would not allow a person to retreat even when terrified. This… was courage.

With a bitter smile, the bald crane banished the thought of escape. It let out a long sigh in its heart and flew to Su Ming's side before fixing its stare on the sky. There was a solemnness and madness on its face, something that had never been seen before.

"I'm sorry, I promised to take you out of the land of Berserkers, but I… didn't manage to do it in time," Su Ming said softly while looking at the sky.

Qian Chen was trembling, but he still shook his head. He did not speak.

At that moment, the numerous longships in the starry sky suddenly let out piercing cries and turned into long black arcs that charged towards the ground.

In the blink of an eye, there was a thousand longships in the air near the ninth summit. Waves of mighty pressure that was difficult to describe with words spread out from the thousands of Dao Slaves dressed in Constellation Robes standing on the longships.

Even if there were no Dao Slaves in the Third Step among them, but the shock and destruction that could be brought forth by thousands of cultivators in the Second Step could sometimes be even more shocking than that of five cultivators in the Third Step.

Their aloof gazes and Dao Yuan's crazed roars after his arrogance was restored brought this disaster to its most intense state.

"Kill him! Destroy that mountain! Make sure that not a single blade of grass remains there! Damn it! He nearly killed me! He nearly killed me!"

Dao Yuan's eyes were red. Just a moment ago, he had been surrounded by death. It had been the closest he had ever come to dying. It made the fear in his heart reach its most extreme state. Now that he was filled with a sense of safety, his fear turned into an equal amount of anger.

Murderous aura shone in the eyes of the thousands of Dao Slaves on the longships, but they did not attack without command. Unless it was completely necessary and the situation forced them to, the members of Morning Dao Sect would not attack by themselves. However, the instant Dao Yuan's voice rose into the air, the thousands of people flew out together and turned into thousands of long arcs that charged towards the ninth summit.

Their presence was shocking and even surpassed the mighty pressure brought by the five Dao Slaves in the Third Step. There was also a sense of suffocation brought by them.

Qian Chen's eyes turned red. He let out a crazed roar and was just about to rush out while flinging all caution to the wind, but right when he lifted his foot, Su Ming pushed his left hand against Qian Chen's shoulder. The power of Su Ming's Atman went into the man's mind and soul, and a roar resounded in Qian Chen's mind. He shivered and fell unconscious.

Su Ming pushed him gently backwards, and his body flew towards the ninth summit's cave abode.

"Many of ours have already died. We can't have any more of our own dying…" Su Ming mumbled. When his Atman spread out, it turned into a wave of impact that swept up the stunned bald crane by his side. Only when it was sent into the cave abode as well that the bald crane registered what was happening. Its body trembled as it looked at Su Ming with a dazed expression.

It was as if only at that moment did it truly get to know Su Ming. As it continued looking at him, this bald crane who believed itself to be heartless felt its eyes watering.

"Help me take care of my senior brothers…" Su Ming whispered softly to it. He then took a step towards the incoming thousands of Dao Slaves in the Second Step and charged over to them with a firm resolution as he held the killing sword in hand.

Most of the thousands of Dao Slaves were more powerful than Su Ming. This was a massacre that bore no suspense because the result was already clear. This was a single person fighting against thousands of people.

A shocking roar reverberated in the air, and that was just the near hundred people at the forefront of the charge lifting their right hands together to execute a single divine ability. It turned into endless starlight that crashed into Su Ming's illusory body.

Without the existence of the three souls that previously sealed his soul, the instant the starlight touched Su Ming's illusory body, the scene of two shadows overlapping but not touching each other as if they did not exist in the same dimension did not appear again. Instead, as the light roared, it seemed to have turned into countless needles that caused Su Ming's illusory body to crumble swiftly. He turned into glittering sparkles, and once most of them were extinguished, the remainder fell back before gathering together once again a thousand feet away.

They turned into Su Ming, but he was even more transparent than before. It was as if he would scatter away if wind blew against him.

However, at the instant Su Ming's body crumbled, he had slashed once. That slash contained the might of the first slash he had executed after his soul was completed. It contained his soul and also his awakening to the Abyss.

It contained… his Origin divine ability!

As that slash swept through the air, it charged past the hundreds of people at the front, but it did not seem to contain any destructive power. It was just like a gentle breeze.

However, when Su Ming's body crumbled and gathered together once again into an even weaker illusion, the hundreds of people right at the front of the charge Su Ming had just cut… suddenly started aging.

It was as if the flow of time had been accelerated for them. The operations of their bodies begun to run exponentially faster, and their faces soon aged a dozen or more years. Waves of rotting air also begun to spread from their bodies.

Their hair turned grayish white. Wrinkles appeared on their faces. Their life force seemed to be devoured by space itself, and most of this life force disappeared within an instant.

In fact, there were a dozen something people… who instantly turned into corpses as their bodies withered and aged because their levels of cultivation were not high and they did not have many years of life left. Even their Nascent Divinities found it difficult to escape from their bodies; all of them died as they withered.

At the same time as this dozen something people died, the lifeforce and life of near a hundred people vanished. Wisps of white smoke left their bodies and charged towards Su Ming. They instantly fused with him, causing his see-through body to immediately look much more corporeal.

"Is this my awakened Origin divine ability after my soul was completed..?" Su Ming mumbled.

He could sense his soul getting stronger at a maddening pace as those white wisps of smoke entered his body. The life force he absorbed seemed to be a substance that was grossly lacking within him. It was as if he had become a dry sponge at that moment, and he was continuously absorbing other people's life force and years of life to complete everything about himself.

However, this awakening was a little too late for Su Ming, because even if that slash had allowed him to absorb a large amount of life force, it still could not fill up the unchangeable difference of power between him and those thousands of Dao Slaves.

As Dao Yuan screamed shrilly and the thousands of Dao Slaves closed in on him once again, they executed their divine abilities at the same time. The starlight that was stirred up was enough to replace all light in the world. As that light filled the air, it was like an ancient beast made of stars devouring Su Ming whole.

At the instant it devoured him, he suddenly gained an epiphany. What he had come to understand was his Origin divine ability. It was… the will of autumn, was it not?

It might not be the color of autumn, but the life force he absorbed was like autumn in his body. It was a fusion between death and life. It was the true epitome of change.

"Autumn…"

As Su Ming whispered this, his illusory body instantly shone with a red light. It was the color of autumn. An endless amount of snow also appeared out of nowhere around him. The flakes of snow withered once they fell, and they were like the leaves of autumn as they did so. If someone observed from afar, they'd see snow at first, but once they blinked, they'd think that it was the falling leaves they were seeing.

Su Ming's power erupted due to his epiphany and moved straight from the initial stage of Life Matrix to the middle stage of Life Matrix. It also appeared as the snow and falling leaves around him interlaced with each other, making the color of autumn on his body denser.

At the instant the thousands of Dao Slaves closed in and the starlight formed by the second batch of nearly a thousand people submerged Su Ming, understanding appeared in his eyes. His level of cultivation then moved from the middle stage of Life Matrix straight to the later stage of that Realm!

Only one more step, and he would be able to reach the second Realm in the path of Life Cultivation—Life Privation!

Chapter 744: Yin Death's Child!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

This one step was not difficult to cross either, because Su Ming already knew what he was lacking. Once he gained his epiphany, he came to a vague understanding that he was lacking life force. It was the years of life that belonged to those from Bright Yang Region.

It was also at this instant that a man's voice that was unfamiliar to him but was warm and gentle appeared in his soul. It sounded as if it had come from a long, long time ago.

"Building Abyss…"

"Building Abyss…" This second voice was Su Ming mumbling it to himself.

As his voice traveled outwards and the starlight came towards him, a shocking boom shook the sky and earth beyond the ninth summit.

The entire world looked as if it had stopped rotating as those booming sounds shot into the air. Su Ming's body crumbled at that instant, even if he had come to understand what it meant to build the Abyss, even if he had stepped into the later stage of Life Matrix, and even if… he had managed to execute the will of autumn during the final moment.

However, in the face of absolute power, all of these things were so weak that they could not withstand even a single hit. Su Ming's body crumbled, but even though he managed to gather an illusory body once again on the ninth summit, the body that manifested this time was almost completely transparent. It was faint, and if anyone tried to search for him with the naked eye, they'd find it almost impossible to detect him.

A weakness that came from the bottom of his soul filled Su Ming's consciousness. He staggered back a few steps, but firmly stopped outside the cave abode at the top of the mountain. Even at this point, he still wanted to protect the ninth summit.

Even if his consciousness had almost completely scattered away and he was about to truly die, he still continued standing there firmly, even if… he had already become invisible.

As the booming sounds reverberated in the sky, several dozens of the thousands of Dao Slaves turned into corpses with shocked expressions on their faces. They did not even make a single sound as they transformed and fell into the sea.

Less than fifty people died from the thousands. To the Dao Slaves, the number of casualties they suffered did not even cause any damage to the foundation of their army… but at that moment, the expressions of those thousands of people had become grave.

Even though less than fifty of their own had died, there were several hundred of whose faces had turned pale while they were losing most of their life force as well as their years of life. Even their levels of cultivation had fallen by several stages.

All of this was due to Su Ming alone.

"Kill him! By my orders, kill him! Damn it! All of you attack together and immediately kill him! Destroy that mountain! It's clear that he's still not choosing to run but to fight to the death in this place because this mountain is incredibly important to him! Destroy the mountain! Kill him!" Dao Yuan started yelling once more while hiding behind all of his Dao Slaves.

Killing intent shone within the thousands of Dao Slaves' eyes. This time, as they charged forward, the thousands of people spread out before executing their divine abilities. As they cast them, a destructive power that could destroy the world erupted from their bodies with a bang.

That power was enough to destroy the current Su Ming as well as the ninth summit. It would put his senior brothers as well as Qian Chen and the bald crane into eternal slumber, and his eldest senior brother would not wake up ever again, either.

In his weakened state, Su Ming lifted his head with great difficulty. His gaze fell on the excited Dao Yuan behind the thousands of Dao Slaves. At the instant he saw him, the final chilling light of Su Ming's life shone in his eyes.

"I have no regrets living and dying with the ninth summit… but it's a pity that I didn't manage to kill the one who destroyed it, that Dao Yuan. I will be ashamed to meet my senior brothers in hell…" Su Ming mumbled.

At the instant the divine abilities from the thousands of Dao Slaves closed in on him, he lowered his head to look at the killing sword in his hand. The tip of the sword was trembling, and he could sense the resolve to kill the world coming from the spirit.

"I have two more divine abilities…"

Su Ming could sense that he was so weak that he had reached his limit. As he was about to disappear, he swiftly lifted his left hand and pushed his palm against the ground.

With it, the ground immediately trembled. A wave of earthen aura surged out from the ninth summit and the sea beneath it. It covered Su Ming's left hand, then, through his left arm, it charged into his illusory body, making Su Ming's left hand wither immediately. At the time his arm looked as if it had become emaciated, white light surrounded it.

This was the Surging Indulgers' divine ability. It was one of the Arts Su Ming had learned in Eastern Wastelands Tower. It was also the reason why the ancient existence in Yin Death Vortex had paid attention to him. It was even… the key to stir up the hundred thousand Surging Indulger and Evil Spirit warriors in the two worlds within the Yin Death Vortex.

The Surging Indulgers' divine ability used spirits to refine the body. If Su Ming had a body of flesh and blood, then what would wither would be his flesh and blood, yet even though it might look as if it had withered, he wouldn't have lost a lot of his blood and flesh. The portion that withered would have just been absorbed by the other parts in his body, which would cause his body to no longer look complete but as if there was a gap within it. This would then allow the Art to use the withered left arm to become a power that could absorb other people's flesh and blood to make its owners body whole again.

In truth, the completion they would gain after that would cause the Surging Indulgers to become slightly stronger than before.

However, Su Ming did not possess a physical body at that moment, hence the part that looked withered… was his soul. As his left arm withered, his entire illusory body gradually began to wither until his soul completely disappeared. His right hand, which held onto the killing sword, had gathered Su Ming's Atman in its entirety to gain corporeal form, in a manner as if it had gone through crystallization.

The right hand swiftly flew up. With its fingers curled around the killing sword and Su Ming's will, at the instant the thousands of divine abilities from the Dao Slaves closed in, the hand charged towards the spot where Dao Yuan was in the distance while taking the form of a long arc. It charged forward with a speed that shattered all space and rushed towards Dao Yuan.

The sword traveled so quickly that it closed the distance of less than a thousand feet in the blink of an eye. There had been Dao Slaves in its way, but no matter who got in the sword's path, none of them were able to avoid the attack that was practically the last strike of Su Ming's life.

At the instant Su Ming sent his sword charging forth, his Atman executed the other divine ability of another race he had learned in Eastern Wastelands Tower. It was the Evil Spirits' Art. A large amount of black smoke erupted from Su Ming's crystallized right hand which held onto the killing sword. Once the black smoke covered the right hand, it became impossible to see.

At the instant the hand disappeared, the black smoke turned into a ferocious face of a ghost which covered the area around the killing sword. As it roared, it propelled the killing sword with a bang.

Wherever it went, nearly a hundred Dao Slaves tried to stop it, but the instant they touched the sword, the ghost's face released a roar that had the power to shake people's hearts and souls.

This roar reverberated in the air, and it was as if it could stop all operations in the world, for nearly a hundred Dao Slaves stopped simultaneously. The divine abilities they executed also froze, simply allowing that ghost face to charge past them.

The sword appeared right before the screaming Dao Yuan, whose face was now showing shock and terror.

The thousands of Dao Slaves around him did not have time to save him. Su Ming's killing sword was traveling too quickly, and the ferocious ghost face stopped all the operations in the world, making it so the Dao Slaves could only watch what happened.

The sword which contained Su Ming's life and everything else within him came at the center of Dao Yuan's brows.

At the instant the sword was about to pierce him, the stars in the Constellation Robe on Dao Yuan's body started rotating swiftly. The starlight spun, and the ferocious ghost face around the killing sword let out a shrill scream of pain and disappeared.

However, a scream of pain came from Dao Yuan's mouth as well. His Constellation Robe was fighting against the ferocious ghost face and protecting his body, but once the Surging Indulger's divine ability had gathered Su Ming's life within the killing sword, the power of absorption from the Art had forcefully sucked out a part of Dao Yuan's soul from his body upon impact.

Dao Yuan's shrill screams of pain reverberated in the air. His soul was being devoured at a rapid pace, and his body was swiftly withering as it trembled. This was the picture of someone whose flesh, blood, and essence were being absorbed. That pain was comparable to the death by a thousand cuts [1].

However, the Sacred Constellation Robe was a treasure that all direct descendants of the Dao family in Morning Dao Sect could obtain after their birth. It might be impossible for Dao Yuan to bring out its true might… but there were still certain aspects that made the robe powerful.

It forcefully retained a single wisp of Dao Yuan's soul so that he would not die. Even if his body turned into mere skin and bones at that moment and there was a dismal air all around him… he was still alive.

However, even if he was alive, he was in pain that was much worse than death. His shrill screams of pain had already turned hoarse, and he had lost all his strength. If the Constellation Robe had not locked his soul in his body, he would have died a long time ago. But this lockdown and the absorption from Su Ming's killing sword was like a saw, making him suffer an intense pain that would shatter anyone else's consciousness.

However, it was difficult for Su Ming to last long in this condition. His killing sword gradually lost its power of absorption. The ferocious ghost face had also disappeared from midair. Everything that was part of Su Ming's very existence was no longer around. Even his consciousness which he had gathered on the killing sword gradually turned into glittering sparkles that were now spreading out.

The killing sword let out a sad whistle. It had not been with Su Ming for long, but during that short period of time, it had experienced the true way to be used as a sword.

It was infatuated with this feeling, and so it whistled sadly once it sensed Su Ming's consciousness fading away and scattering in all directions.

In the distance, the divine abilities from the thousands of Dao Slaves had already covered the ninth summit. It was quickly being broken down, and it wouldn't be long until it crumbled in its entirety.

It seemed that it was no longer possible for anything to happen that could change what was now meant to be.

The final soul in Su Ming's body, that of the white-haired man who had turned into moths. had been correct. There was someone who was unwilling to let him succeed, and that someone had opened the path for all the ships to enter smoothly into the land of Berserkers.

But there was also an existence which was unwilling to let Su Ming die like this.

"Su Ming, are you willing… to become Yin Death's Child… for Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds..?" an ancient voice asked languidly from the sky at that instant.

Once that voice spoke, the whole world froze. The thousands of Dao Slaves became still and unmoving in midair. Their divine abilities froze up, and the ninth summit's collapse was also halted.

The sea's movements, the wind's howls, and everything else froze the moment the voice spoke.

Translator's Notes:

1. Death by a thousand cuts: Otherwise known as Lingchi. It is an execution method in China where the executioner cuts the condemned multiple times until he eventually dies. Supposed to be only for traitors.

Chapter 745: Dao Yuan's Death!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"If you become Yin Death's Child, then the ninth summit will be protected. The land of Berserkers will become part of Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds once again, which is not reversible. From then on… no more Immortals will be able to take even half a step into your world.

"If you become Yin Death's Child, your senior brothers will be able to live. They will not be affected even a single bit by this disaster. In fact, I can also heal your eldest senior brother's injuries within an instant.

"If you refuse… then there will be no ninth summit anymore. Your senior brothers will die, and the land of Berserkers… will still be separated from Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds, just as it always has been.

"Wear this. The moment you put it on, you will become Yin Death's Child. You will be delivered to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. That place does not belong to Yin Death Region. It is outside, and it is very far away from this place…

"Go to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence and search for… the king of Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds! There should be an entrance that leads to the fifth Great True World in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. Look for that entrance…

"Once you wear this, you will no longer have freedom. Once you wear this, you will lose your ability to love… You will become cold and heartless. You will lose all sense of pain. You will no longer know what it even is.

"You will… become Yin Death's Child, something that belongs solely to Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds!"

An endless amount of crystalline sparks gradually appeared from thin air as the world remained still. Once they gathered together, they formed into an item floating before Su Ming's semi-transparent body.

It was a mask, one made of black steel.

"When you wear this, you will… no longer be you…"

Su Ming's heart trembled. He stared at the mask with a blank expression, and the ancient voice that came from the Yin Death Vortex reverberated in his heart.

Anguish and absent-mindedness gradually appeared on his face. The dazedness then turned into a sentence in his head.

"When you learn who you are, you… are no longer you. When you no longer know who you are, you… will be you."

Su Ming remained silent.

"Wear it and head to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. It is a place that has been sealed by the four True Great Worlds. It is a region that is feared by the four True Great Worlds, and it has numerous powerful warriors from the four True Great Worlds guarding it.

"It is… a wasteland, a barren piece of land. It is… also the place that seals the fifth Great True World, and this was done by the four Great True Worlds. It is… also the place where the four Great True Worlds keep their criminals. It... is a place where powerful warriors gather!

"That place is veiled in mystery, and there are endless possibilities there… Yin Death's Child, wear the mask, and I promise that I will protect the Berserkers. I promise that you will have no worries… until the moment you die in battle.

"Find the king of Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds or look for the entrance to the fifth Great True World."

The ancient voice reverberated in the air, spreading out and filling the world that had become still before turning into lingering echo that lasted for a long, long time.

"You cannot refuse!"

That was the final sentence spoken by the ancient voice. There was a ruthless tone to it, but there was no threat contained within it. Yet everything before Su Ming had now turned into the sharpest blade that was ripping his heart apart.

The ninth summit's destruction had stopped. The cave abode's collapse had only just begun before it was frozen.

"Why me…?" Su Ming asked in a low voice after remaining silent for a moment.

However, he never obtained an answer to his question.

He slowly lifted his hand. He knew that he indeed could not refuse what the voice had just offered.

When he held the mask, a thick Yin Death Aura spread out from within it. That aura instantly blended with Su Ming's body, causing him to swiftly gain corporeal form from his illusory state. All his injuries were completely cured in the blink of an eye. His legs, arms, body, and head showed up in their complete form.

Su Ming did not put on the mask immediately. He held it firmly, and only the slightest quiver could be seen on his hand. He lifted his head and looked at the sky.

"My eldest senior brother's injuries," Su Ming said in a low voice.

"The moment you wear the mask, he will awaken," the ancient voice said after a moment.

Su Ming remained silent for some time before speaking up again."I need seven days!"

"Very well. When you put on that mask seven days later, I will come and receive you," the old voice stated in a merciless tone as it spread through the entire land.

Su Ming looked at the Dao Slaves that had been halted in the world, and when he spoke next, his voice had a freezing chill to it. "I want all of these thousands of Dao Slaves dead!"

"Very well."

At the instant that ancient voice said these two words, the thousands of Dao Slaves that had been frozen in midair immediately started bleeding from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and their bodies instantly exploded with a bang. Even their Constellation Robes were unable to stop this destructive power. As they collapsed, their flesh and blood spread everywhere.

The thousands of Dao Slaves all died at that instant.

There was no pained screams, no struggle.

Su Ming lifted his head and laughed at the sky. There was a craziness to his laughter, and as he laughed, tears fell from his eyes. The thousands of Dao Slaves had been so powerful, but in the eyes of those who were truly powerful, they were so weak that they had shattered and crumbled with just two words.

At that instant, a desire to become truly strong was deeply burned into Su Ming's mind. It was a bloody memory, one that he engraved deep into his bones, one that he would never forget.

"I want his robe to no longer protect him. I want… to personally crush his bones and scatter his ashes into the wind!" Su Ming's crying eyes were crimson red at that moment he turned to glare at Dao Yuan.

"Very well."

The ancient voice was as heartless and aloof as ever. Once he said it, the stars in the Sacred Constellation Robe on Dao Yuan's body that had still been rotating slowly even after the world had frozen became still in an instant.

"Seven days later, I will wait for your call."

The old voice gradually faded into the distance. Once it disappeared, the world's operations instantly returned to normal, but the ninth summit's destruction no longer continued. Since the thousands of Dao Slaves had died, their divine abilities also faded away.

The ninth summit might be damaged, but it still stood tall.

The sea started moving and waves began striking at the shore again. The sea breeze began blowing once more, having recovered from its frozen state. It scattered the torn pieces of flesh of thousands of Dao Slaves as they fell to the surface of the sea. The wind brought away the thick, bloody stench, but it could not dissolve the bright red stain on the surface of the sea.

Once the stars in the Constellation Robe stopped moving and the world's operations were restored, Dao Yuan let out a shrill scream, and his emaciated body shivered. He looked at the thousands of dead Dao Slaves in the sky, all of whom had been reduced to pieces of flesh and blood, and his body started trembling furiously.

They were his everything. They were his foundation in Morning Dao Sect. They were guards that he had drawn to his side after paying an incredibly large price for them, but now… on this one trip to the land of Berserkers, all of them had died.

This consequence was something he could not bear. All the deaths turned into pain, and he coughed up a mouthful blood straight from his heart. He shivered, and goosebumps soon rose all over his body. As extreme terror filled him, to the point that his mind almost detached itself from his body, for he saw Su Ming glaring at him with bloodshot eyes from midair.

While screaming, Dao Yuan started retreating without any hesitation, but before he could withdraw even thirty feet backwards, Su Ming appeared right him with burning hate.

His savage expression, crimson eyes, and hate-filled presence rose Dao Yuan's terror to its peak. In a frenzy, this young lord wanted to activate his Sacred Constellation Robe, but no matter how he tried, it did not work. It was like a normal robe, one that didn't have any powers it should have.

Su Ming lifted his right hand. He caught Dao Yuan's right index finger, and the once proud young lord screamed in terror. Su Ming squeezed lightly, and there was a small cracking sound. He had crushed Dao Yuan's right index finger.

Filled with intense pain, Dao Yuan's screamed even louder.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me. I am a direct descendant of Morning Dao…"

Before Dao Yuan could finish screaming, Su Ming had already crushed another finger, and another, and another. Once all of Dao Yuan's fingers had been crushed, the young lord's pained screams had become hoarse, and there was a weakness to his voice.

But there was still a crazed sinister glint in his eyes that wished evil upon Su Ming.

"If you kill me, then you will suffer and die. Morning Dao Sect will definitely take revenge for me. Your people will be eradicated. They will die…"

Su Ming lifted his right hand and crushed Dao Yuan's right arm inch by inch, moving slowly upwards from the shattered fingers and palm. When the bones in Dao Yuan's right arm had all been crushed, the shattered pieces became spikes that pierced his skin to the point they could be seen outside. The young lord was in an incredibly wretched state.

Dao Yuan's screams became louder. The pain destroyed all his malice and his curses. As tears fell from his eyes, he started begging for mercy nonstop.

"Let me go. I-I…"

But before he could even finish pleading, Su Ming had seized his left arm, and crushed the bones were in the same manner as before.

After that, Su Ming did not immediately kill him. Instead, he crushed Dao Yuan's legs and skull before untying his Constellation Robe. Once Su Ming put away the robe, he calmly brought out a medicinal pill to cure wounds and threw it into the weakened and terrified Dao Yuan's mouth.

That medicinal pill melted in Dao Yuan's mouth. It turned into a wave of life force that filled him with vigor, preventing him, whose consciousness was about to scatter, from sinking into unconsciousness. Once again, he experienced the indescribable pain of having most of the bones in his body crushed, and the suffering of his crushed bones scraping against his flesh and blood.

His shrill and hoarse screams rang in the air once again. As he screamed, Su Ming took a step forward and stood before the trembling body. Once he froze Dao Yuan's body with an Art, he lifted his left hand slowly and sliced down at the spot right above Dao Yuan's spine.

A long wound instantly appeared there. Due to his hate for Dao Yuan, he used both his hands to rip that wound open. As he did that, Dao Yuan screamed even more shrilly. His spine and two rows of ribs were revealed under the open flesh, along with his beating heart and lungs, which were alternating between contracting and expanding.

With a calm expression on his face, Su Ming reached in with both hands and seized Dao Yuan's lungs before he yanked them out in one swift move. The shrill screams reached their most intense state. When Dao Yuan breathed in next, his eyes bulged out, and as his body shivered… he truly breathed his last and died!

His storage bag flew into the air. Once Su Ming seized it, he closed his eyes, and two trails of tears fell down his cheeks.

Chapter 746: If Only Life Was as Beautiful as It Seemed at First Sight

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A man would not cry easily.

Su Ming remembered that he rarely cried in his life, but on this day, he cried. His tears trickled down his cheeks. He looked at the damaged ninth summit, and the faces of people who had chosen to self-destruct to protect him during this battle appeared in his head.

There was also Bai Su's face, as well as Yu Xuan's.

All of these had turned to ashes and smoke, blown away by the sea breeze. He hated the Immortals, hated Morning Dao Sect, and hated that Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds who had let all of this happen just so that they could turn him into Yin Death's Child.

Su Ming stood at the cave abode outside the damaged ninth summit and looked at his second senior brother, who had his eyes closed, at Hu Zi, who was snoring, and at his eldest senior brother, whose entire body had turned into stone. As he looked at them silently in the cave, Su Ming wept.

He knew that this might be the last time he saw them. Perhaps he would never be able to see his senior brothers and the ninth summit again in his life, because he was about to leave and go to a place that were very, very far away.

Because at that time, he would no longer have the ability to love, and he would feel no pain.

Su Ming stood outside the cave, and after a long time, he slowly knelt down and kowtowed nine times in the direction of the cave abode.

"Eldest senior brother, second senior brother, Hu Zi… I will have to leave it to you to search for Master… Master, Su Ming is an unfilial student…" Su Ming wept and kowtowed.

After some time, he stood up, and the bald crane quietly handed him a white piece of fabric.

It was the only remnant of Bai Su after she had died. Su Ming had seized it with his right hand after his body crumbled, and it was kept safe by the bald crane so that wind would not blow it away.

Su Ming took the white piece of fabric and looked at it quietly.

A day later, he left the ninth summit. Lying behind him at the bottom of the sea was his cave abode from all those years ago. Right outside it was a grave that had been buried at the depths of the sea.

A white piece of fabric was buried in that grave. It was… Bai Su's grave.

Su Ming left. With the promise made to the old voice from Yin Death Vortex, Su Ming knew that there was no longer any power that could disturb his senior brothers in the land of Berserkers.

He left. By his side was the bald crane that refused to let him leave alone. No matter what Su Ming did, it would follow him silently and keep him company by staying at his side.

Qian Chen cried as he stood at the top of the ninth summit and watched Su Ming leave. At that moment, he swore in his heart to become stronger, to absolutely become stronger.

He could never forget Su Ming, could never forget the days that had seemed depressing and bleak, but had turned into incredibly precious memories once he lost them.

Now, all of these things were gone.

Qian Chen cried and sat down on the mountain.

Su Ming walked through the world. He charged forward in madness and desperation, moving at his fastest speed. He used three days, and had even burned his own cultivation base, to cross the Dead Sea and reach the Alliance of the Western Region from South Morning.

He did not have much time left. He had to return to the Alliance of the Western Region before he left to see whether Dark Mountain truly existed. He had to see whether there were any old friends remaining there.

The land in the Alliance of the Western Region was covered in black earth. There was a mountain at the edges of the continent. That mountain looked like a hand that had four fingers and stood towering over the world. At the foot of the mountain, there was a forest whose end could not be seen.

It was winter in the Alliance of the Western Region. Snow floated down from the sky, making the forest look as if it was dressed in a white wedding dress. The white-covered ground seemed to be preparing for a wedding, yet at the same time, it looked to be getting ready for a funeral.

As the snow floated down, Su Ming came to this place, the hometown upon remembering which he'd always get lost in revery - Dark Mountain.

He did not manage to find Lei Chen, and neither did he find any old acquaintances, but he managed to find the mountain, the place that contained the beautiful moments in his memories.

As Su Ming looked at Dark mountain, tears started flowing down his eyes once again. He walked on Dark Mountain and touched the mountain rocks. Snow landed on his body, and he could not bring himself to sweep it away. He walked past the forest at the foot of the mountain and stepped on the snow. This path was the one he took when he was walking in circles as he carried Bai Ling on his back.

When he moved to where Dark Mountain Tribe was originally located, he found… that there was no tribe there.

Perhaps many years ago, there was a tribe in this place, and its name was Dark Mountain Tribe. Yet now, there was only a white layer of snow and dried up forest before Su Ming's eyes.

He stood silently in this place. Time passed. A long, long passage of time trickled by…

The bald crane watched everything from the side and kept Su Ming company in silence.

The sun set and rose. Snow floated down from the sky, and Su Ming stood for the entire night. He looked at the forest and the snow before he suddenly took a few steps forward and knelt down on the ground. Then, he started digging through the snow and earth on the ground. He continued digging as if he had gone mad, and gradually, his hands turned into a bloody mess, but he still continued digging, as if he did not know what pain was.

When Su Ming eventually dug out a deep pit, he found some discarded items that were buried at the bottom of the pit. They were some bowls, pots, and a few more scattered items that were made of stone and exuded a presence filled with decay.

As Su Ming looked at these things, his tears fell on the ground. He was familiar with these items. They… belonged to Dark Mountain.

Su Ming did not know how he left Dark Mountain and the mountain. In his anguish, he walked around aimlessly. Once he walked out of the forest, wisps of indistinct chimney smoke appeared before him. They came from a small tribe.

It was a small tribe that had decided to settle down and grow in this place at some unknown point in time. Su Ming looked at the chimney smoke and walked slowly to towards it. Cheerful songs and children's joyful laughter gradually reached his ears when he approached the tribe.

As Su Ming looked at the tribe, he felt like he was looking at Dark Mountain Tribe. Eventually, he lowered his head, and with a hint of melancholy, he turned around and walked into the distance. A mask appeared in his right hand. Dark light shone on it, making it stand out starkly against the snow.

At the instant Su Ming was about to place the mask on his face, his footsteps suddenly froze. He turned his head around and looked at the forest in the distance. At that moment, there was a young man and woman arguing on the snow.

"You once said that you'll stay with me for all eternity. You once said that this was a promise…" It was a woman's voice, and she was crying as she looked at the man before her.

The young man remained silent for a long while before he spoke in anguish. "I once said that… but…"

"There're no buts in this! I know you still love me, so why must you leave? We once swore an oath in the snow that we would walk together until our heads turned white. Our hair did indeed turn white from the snow, but must we part way right now? What about our promise..?" The woman wept, and her voice drifted in the wind and snow.

The young man lowered his head in anguish. He had his own troubles.

Su Ming looked at the young man and woman and listened to their words. A girl filled with wild beauty appeared before his eyes. That girl was Bai Ling, but she looked like Bai Su as well.

"Can we walk till our heads turn white in the snow..?"

"That is a promise."

Su Ming closed his eyes. At the instant he did so, he sent his Atman outwards…

A shudder ran through the young man's body in the forest. When he lifted his head, a gentle look appeared in his eyes. That gentle gaze made the crying woman standing before him stop crying.

The young man smiled and moved beside the woman. He took off the fang necklace on his neck and the earring on her left ear.

"We will walk till our heads turn white in the snow, and we will do the same thing when it is not snowing. This is a promise!"

The woman hugged the young man, and her weeping was now filled with joy.

At that moment, Su Ming opened his eyes in the distance. He did not turn his head back to look but continued walking further away while welcoming the snow and wind against him. He lifted his right hand and slowly placed the mask on his face.

At the instant he did so, not a single hint of warmth could be sensed from his body anymore. It was instead replaced by heartlessness and mercilessness, and his presence became so chilling even the snow could not match it.

Su Ming moved into the distance. From then on, he could no longer love, could no longer feel pain. He… was no longer himself.

He was like a picture in the snow. The name for that picture… was 'If Only Life Was as Beautiful as It Seemed at First Sight'.

End of Arc Three

Chapter 747: The Barren Lands of Divine Essence

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Arc 4: Rising in Power in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence

Su Ming's body was gradually covered by snow as he walked into the distance. At the moment he put on the mask on his face, his level of cultivation immediately started rising and reached great completion in Life Matrix from the later stage of that Realm. As he left, the presence belonging to Life Privation filled his body.

A thick wave of aura of death turned into a ring in his body, but even though he was in Life Privation Realm, Su Ming still did not stop moving. Instead, he kept on coldly walking into the distance.

As he did so, the blue sky in the land of Berserkers started withdrawing layer by layer to reveal the gigantic Yin Death Vortex behind it. That vortex was rotating slowly and letting out booming sounds.

Those sounds were like roars as they reverberated in the air. It almost felt like they were screaming a chant that no one could understand.

Soon, the vortex in the sky started rotating faster. As it spun, Su Ming lifted his head amidst the snow and wind falling around him. The black mask he wore on his face was incredibly cold, making his gaze full of mercilessness and heartlessness.

He was dressed entirely in white. At that moment, besides feeling cold, he also radiated a sense of apathy towards life. He slowly flew up into the sky, towards the vortex.

"Welcome, Yin Death's Child of Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds… I didn't expect that you would put on the mask before the seven days ended…" the ancient voice said slowly from the vortex, and there was not a hint of emotion that could be detected within it.

"Noisy."

The masked Su Ming spoke coldly. The icy chill in his words seemed to be able to make even the vortex freeze for a moment. His blunt manner of speech, however, contained absolutely no hint of emotion, which brought a pause to the old voice in the vortex. However, after that slight pause, he let out a loud bark of laughter.

"Good. As expected of Yin Death's Child who lost his ability to feel and sense of pain. I will open the path for you and send you to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. This relocation will use up a large amount of energy we've stored over countless years in Yin Death's Fragmented Worlds. I… wish success upon you!"

As that old voice laughed, Yin Death Vortex started rotating swiftly in the sky. Soon, a large hole appeared at the center of the vortex.

That hole was pitch black, but there were bolts of purple lightning swimming within it. At the instant it appeared, Su Ming turned into a long arc and charged inside.

Su Ming continued getting closer to the hole, and he soon appeared beyond it. At the instant he got there, he stopped moving for a moment and turned his head to look at the ground beneath him.

When he stood at the highest spot in the sky, the continents in the land of Berserkers seemed to have shrank several times. He could see all of them at once. His gaze moved from the Alliance of the Western Region to South Morning. As he looked at it, he could vaguely see the ninth summit.

He could see his second senior brother walking out of the cave abode. Hu Zi was right behind him… as well as eldest senior brother, who had recovered from his petrified state.

However, Su Ming's gaze was aloof, so aloof that it would make all those who were familiar with him feel that he had become a stranger. Su Ming turned his head back and no longer looked at the ground. He lifted his foot and stepped into the hole.

Almost at the instant he did so, the bald crane behind him let out a piercing screech. Its body turned into a long arc that could slice through the air, and the moment Su Ming stepped into the hole, it... followed closely behind him!

The Barren Lands of Divine Essence existed in a vast galaxy. It was not part of Yin Death Region, and more accurately speaking, it existed in the same galaxy as Bright Yang Emptiness, which was where the four True Great Worlds were, and which was located outside Yin Death Region.

This place was the place where the criminals who had committed heinous crimes but were too difficult to kill were banished in the four Great True Worlds. There were all sorts of malicious fiends in there, and big armies formed by numerous powerful warriors from the four Great True Worlds would take turns once every five thousand years to fend against the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.

They were not just fending against the place to prevent those who had been judged to be criminals to return to the four Great True Worlds, but were also fending against the members of the alien race from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.

There was an endless amount of abandoned cultivation planets within the galaxy in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. A large amount of poisonous air filled the entire abandoned galaxy. The strength of poison was enough to make all those who were somewhat weaker to begin rotting away and die.

The Barren Lands of Divine Essence were incredibly big, but very few knew just how big they were. Rumors had it that it was once an incredibly fertile place, but the war between the four Great True Worlds against the so called alien races had caused this place to become a barren piece of land.

There were plenty of entrances to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, but only one exit was discovered over the years. There was a seal at the exit. It had been placed by the four Great True Worlds, and it was the spot where a large number of powerful warriors from the four Great True Worlds had gathered to fend against the criminals.

It was like a ravine, and it had withstood plenty of attacks that were sent from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence over the years.

It was a ravine formed by more than thousands of cultivation planets. They had gathered together to form a huge Rune that sealed off and locked down space, so the Barren Lands of Divine Essence were tightly closed off.

In fact, there was a powerful suppressive Art at this exit. It was part of what was used to fend against the alien races from the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.

The criminals who had committed heinous crimes from the four Great True Worlds had been banished to this place because this meant that they'd have to confront the alien races. Those who sent them here wanted to make them fight the alien races for the resources and a chance at survival in this abandoned galaxy that was barren of resources.

Living was a desire in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. Only if people lived would they have endless possibilities. However, the absence of resources, lack of food, and chaos in the spiritual energy caused devastating fights to become frequent. They occured often since people needed to fight for all kinds of resources.

All of this was what the four Great True Worlds wished to see and would be overjoyed to come true. As long as they sealed the exit and often sent criminals in there, then as time passed, this place would slowly fall to ruin.

It was not as if there were no loopholes to this plan, but over the countless years the four Great True Worlds kept this place under watch, almost all loopholes had been slowly filled up using all sorts of methods, turning this place into a sort of hell.

This place was indeed hell. It was a cage, a crazed wasteland of resources that would help a person become a deity. The battle between the four Great True Worlds and the alien races and the deaths over the countless years had caused the Barren Lands of Divine Essence to be filled with boundless aura of death. The density of it in this place might not match that in Yin Death Region, but the difference wasn't great.

In fact, there were certain places where the aura of death was even thicker than that in Yin Death Region, but similarly, there were also certain regions where the aura of death was thin.

Su Ming laid on a ground that was bloody red in color. A bloody stench that would make anyone nauseous filled the air as it mixed with heat. This was an abandoned cultivation planet full of volcanoes. In fact, there were quite of them that were constantly erupting, so the air was filled with something that would burn in the body once someone breathed it in.

Su Ming had been lying there for three days, and it was the place he had first appeared once he entered the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. The large amount of poisonous air and the thin aura of death made this planet to not be very suitable for habitation in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. However, it could still be marginally accepted as a place where people could live.

Yet due to this thin aura of death, Su Ming felt as if his body was melting, and a large amount of black aura seeped out of him. It wasn't the first time he'd ran into such an event, though. It just meant that the density of the aura of death in this place was not thick enough, so his body, which originated from Yin Death, was unable to get used to it. What was happening to him was a form of aging.

Usually, at this point of time, pain would fill Su Ming's body and try to submerge him within itself like tidal waves, but this time… he was calmly looking at the sky calmly and quietly watching the muddled sky. Not a single part of his body was aching.

Because he had lost his sense of pain.

The sky here was muddled and gave off a feeling of authenticity which Su Ming had never sensed before. This was a real sky filled with stars, not the sky that was an illusion formed over the Yin Death Vortex above the land of Berserkers.

The aging and melting of his body lasted three days. The vast amounts of poisonous air in the area rotted Su Ming's clothes, and as his body melted and recovered, hideous boils gradually appeared on his skin.

However, Su Ming seemed to be completely unaware of this. He continued lying there while looking at the sky. No one knew what he was thinking about. The mask on his face had also slowly melted away once he reached the Barren Lands of Divine Essence, as if it had buried itself deep into his skin. It looked as if it had disappeared, revealing Su Ming's pale face, but in truth, it was still around. Su Ming could sense its existence.

The bald crane was lying by the side in the form of a red stone. There was a pair of eyes on that stone that were staring at Su Ming anxiously. The poisonous air in this place made the bald crane feel extremely uncomfortable, but it did not begin melting and aging like Su Ming due to the lack of aura of death in this place.

It had turned into a stone because for some unknown reason this place felt very familiar. The bald crane had a sense that if someone noticed its crane form, it would end up in a very wretched state.

That was why it had instinctively chosen to turn into this form beside Su Ming.

Time trickled by. When the third evening arrived and the heat and poisonous air in the world dispersed slightly, a glint appeared in Su Ming's eyes. When he looked at the sky in the distance coldly, the eyes on the stone that was the bald crane were also immediately hidden.

Soon, rapid footsteps came from the distance. It sounded like there were eight thin people moving there. Once those people revealed themselves, Su Ming saw that they were carrying corpses over their shoulders and seemed to be about to pass by the place.

Suddenly, a frail middle-aged man who was the leader of the group and who was so thin that he was just skin and bones but had incredibly bright eyes that were shining brilliantly while he carried a rotting corpse over his shoulders stopped moving. Once he stopped, the seven people behind him also stopped.

The middle-aged man was dressed in a long purple robe. There were many areas that had been damaged on that robe, and it was incredibly large, a telling sign that this did not originally belong to the frail middle-aged man.

When he stopped moving, his eyes sparkled, and he looked towards Su Ming lying in the distance. When he did so, a person behind him put down the corpse he had over his shoulder and charged towards Su Ming.

He was so quick that he instantly closed a distance of several thousands of feet. A wave of power that would not lose to Su Ming's own circled around him. The person himself was a thin, emaciated old man with a hunched back. Once he arrived beside Su Ming, he looked into Su Ming's aloof eyes and suddenly started laughing.

"Leader, there is one more offering here we can sacrifice to our god, and he even hasn't died yet."