Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-199

The moment her words were out, the expressions on the man and woman instantly change into disbelief.

"It’s not you?! Could there be someone else here who attained great completion for the Blood Solidification Realm?!"

"If that’s the case, then everything that I saw just now, including the true form of the deity statue of Transcendence was due to someone else? This… This is…"

The two of them took in a sharp breath. They suddenly understood why the discussions around them suddenly died down the moment they spoke just now.

"If it’s not you, then who was it?"

"Who could attain great completion in the Blood Solidification Realm then summon the true form of the deity statue of Transcendence and be awarded the title of Divine General of Transcendence?!"

In the face of the obviously shocked words uttered by the man and woman in the sky, Han Fei Zi remained silent for a moment before she spoke softly.

"It was a stranger. He Transcended after attaining great completion for the Blood Solidification Realm and refined lightning into his Origin Vessel. He also took away Han Mountain Bell… Si Ma Xin also took control over a body to appear, but even he could not stop the stranger…"

Her words were soft, but they fell into the two people’s ears like thunder. It made them breathless, as if they could not believe this sudden change.

"Even elder brother Si Ma came? And he couldn’t stop him..? Was this person a man or a woman? How many blood veins did he have?" the man named Chen immediately asked.

The moment the woman by his side heard Si Ma Xin’s name, she sucked in a sharp breath and a respectful look appeared on her face. However, there was also fear within that respect.

"He’s an adult man… as for his blood veins… I do not know," Han Fei Zi replied calmly.

"Above 995 blood veins!" an old and aged voice came from the old man’s mouth. He had averted his gaze from the sky and was looking at where Han Mountain Bell used to be.

"That’s a prodigy if I’ve ever seen one!"

The old man let out a boisterous laugh and joy appeared on his face. He looked elated as he cast his gaze towards a location in the distance. Only the Elder of Puqiang Tribe knew that it was the direction in which Su Ming had left.

As he laughed, a bright shine appeared on the old man’s face. He turned his head toward Lake of Colors Mountain and looked at the Elder of Lake of Colors Tribe. As they looked into each other’s eyes, the old woman closed her eyes.

The old man did not speak. He took one step towards where Su Ming had left and then moved so quickly that he disappeared in the blink of an eye. Right till the moment he left, besides the one glance he threw to the old woman from Lake of Colors Tribe, all of his other looks were on the places Su Ming had traversed before.

When the old man left, the man and woman snapped out of their daze and flew to Lake of Colors Mountain in silence.

A strange light appeared in Han Cang Zi’s eyes. There was eagerness and excitement there. She looked towards the direction the old man left and a vague thought appeared in her head.

The incident in Han Mountain City had ended. When he came, Su Ming was at the Blood Solidification Realm. When he left, had had Transcended!

This was the first time in Su Ming’s life he flew in the air with his own power. However, he did not feel excited. There was only a grave look on his face.

Besides leaving quickly to choose a hidden and remote location to draw his Berserker Mark, he also left due to his amazement with the refined Origin Vessel within him.

It was also because he sensed two presences charging forth when he was still in Han Mountain City.

He had yet to stabilize his power. That was why after a moment of thought, he chose to leave.

Su Ming flew at full speed all the way. After a few days, remote mountains appeared in his sights. This place was quite and people rarely came here. He stood in midair and once he swept his gaze around with his head lowered, he charged down to the ground like a comet and disappeared into the mountains.

In a spot in the endless mountain ranges, green light appeared. Su Ming stood there calmly and looked at the small virescent sword speeding forth before him. Once it dug out a cave abode for him, Su Ming walked in.

The moment he walked into the cave abode, the big rock that was dug out previously turned into a door and blocked off the cave.

Su Ming looked around the dark cave. He touched his bosom with his right hand and red light instantly flared up. A beast skin appeared and floated down to the ground. It instantly turned into the red meadow and covered the ground in the cave.

Once he activated the Branding Art, the small virescent sword floated to one side of the stone door and remained there in constant vigilance.

He Feng was also forced out of Su Ming’s body. He bowed deeply towards Su Ming in respect and gratitude appeared on his face.

A few days ago, he had regained consciousness when Su Ming claimed Han Mountain Bell, and saw Su Ming taking Xuan Lun’s life with one slash. At the same time he revered in the feeling of revenge, deep reverence grew within him towards Su Ming. This sort of reverence fused in to his soul. He could not imagine just what sort of power was necessary to kill a Transcended Berserker with one strike!

"Work with the virescent sword and defend me!"

Su Ming sat down cross-legged and gave He Feng a look.

He Feng immediately nodded and the respect on his face grew. There was even a hint of instinctive flattery as he made his promise…

No longer bothering with He Feng, Su Ming took a deep breath. He may look calm, but in his heart, he felt somber. He closed his eyes and could feel that there was no lightning within him at this moment. However, he just needed to make the Earthen Lightning resting in his organs and the Void Lightning resting in his head collide, and lightning would instantly appear.

That, however, was secondary. What was important was that during the instant lightning appeared within him, he saw the same item that had made him shocked once again!

That item was real. It had substance, but it would only gain a physical state when lightning appeared, then turn into the illusionary might of lightning before traveling out of his body.

‘What I refined was celestial lightning. It was Earthen Lightning and Void Lightning. The power of lightning should only have been produced after the two types of lightning fused together… but… how did this come to be?!’

Su Ming could no longer contain the shock he felt as he observed what was within his body dumbly.

After a long while, he opened his eyes again and a pensive look appeared in them. After a moment, he closed his eyes again and Earthen Lightning that could not be seen by others spread out from his organs. At the same time, the Void Lightning in his head descended.

A boom resounded the moment the two collided. A large amount of lightning sparks immediately flew out off Su Ming’s body, making He Feng let out a cry of surprise and retreat. Fear appeared in his eyes as he looked at Su Ming.

The instant the two types of lightning collided, Su Ming saw his Origin Vessel clearly!

It was a black plate in the shape of a cauldron with nine holes on the surface!

This was his true Origin Vessel. As for lightning, those were just illusions. Only the cauldron shaped black plate with nine holes was his physical Origin Transcendence Vessel!

‘What is it..?’

Su Ming was baffled. That item was within his body, but it only existed for a moment before it disappeared. He could not find it.

He touched the piece of debris that was the same hue, hanging on his chest. He remembered the mountain that existed in the stone debris. In his memories, he also seemed to have seen this blue bolt of lightning before…

"Could it be… but… it’s not that similar," Su Ming mumbled.

As he thought about it in his confused state, Su Ming did not know that an old man was walking in the sky above his cave abode. That old man was the person named Liu from Freezing Sky Clan. There was anticipation on his face as he stood in the sky and looked at the ground.

"I’ve only ever taken in two disciples in my life, but they weren’t able to inherit the true essence of my Art… I once placed my hopes in Si Ma Xin, but the child’s heart… is not vice, but more a fiend. He’s not my best choice.

"The vice I want is an overturn!" the old man mumbled. He cast a look at a specific location among the remote mountains and his anticipation grew.

"Whether you can become my disciple… depends on your serendipity."

The old man sat down cross-legged in midair, then lifted his right hand and pointed towards the ground!

"The Ancient’s Words, Endless Creation! Céacbán, fearr, æsc."

As the old man spoke, he widened his eyes, and red filled the whites of his eyes, causing him to look absolutely different to how he usually looked. His white hair floated in the air even without wind. As it swayed, his hair color also changed. Red spread out through his hair like a tidal wave. In the blink of an eye, his whole hair became red.

His red hair dancing in the wind made the old man looklike a Fallen Berserker. Veins popped out on his face and he looked terrifying. Behind him, an illusion appeared. That illusion was of a sea of blood. In that sea was a stone statue. The statue’s face could not be seen clearly, but there was a shocking sinister air coming from within it.

The old man’s power originally seemed to be only at the initial stage of the Bone Sacrifice Realm. He still seemed like he was at the same level, but the sinister presence coming from him was enough to make those whose power was greater than his to feel shaken.

"Whether you can become my disciple all lies in this day!"

The old man lifted his right hand and drew an arc in the air before he swung his arm down towards the ground once again. The moment he did so, while the earth did not shake physically, it still gave people the misconception that the ground and mountains were trembling. It was as if stillness and movement had just overlapped with each other, causing people to be unable to differentiate between the two.

Even Su Ming did not notice it within his cave abode in the mountains. His entire attention was focused on his body. He was watching his Origin Vessel turning back into a mere illusion from a physical entity, then gushing out of his body in the form of a bolt of lightning.

‘Forget it. I just don’t understand this…’

Su Ming opened his eyes and a calm look gradually appeared on his face.

‘Right now, I need to draw my Berserker Mark… What should my Berserker Mark be..?’ he mumbled.

Most of the Berserkers already had an illusionary Berserker Mark before they Transcended, and would then drawit on their skin once they Transcended so that it could turn into a physical entity.

However, there were a group of people who did not know how their Berserker Marks would look like. They had to sense it through meditation before they could draw it on their skins naturally.

Su Ming was one of them.

He silently circulated his Qi, which did not stem from blood veins. There was the presence of Transcendence within his Qi. As he circulated it, Su Ming gradually fell into a state where he was neither asleep nor awake. It was as if he was in a trance. He placed both his hands on his knees and lifted his head with his eyes closed. His hair spilled on his shoulders and the scar under his eyes glowed with hints of red.

"My Berserker Mark…" Su Ming mumbled as if he was calling out to his Mark.

To Transcended Berserkers, the most important thing to them was not just their Origin Vessel, but also their Berserker Mark.

The Berserker Mark was different because it determined the Transcended Berserker’s path in the future. All of them would be different.

At that moment, the old man who was also sitting outside the cave abode in the mountains pointed towards the ground with his right index finger. His eyes were closed too, but he opened them swiftly.

"I see, so it’s the moon… Hmm? That’s not it!"