Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-676

As the battle axe appeared and eldest senior brother grabbed it, a primal and savage air erupted swiftly from his headless body.

That presence turned into a gigantic vortex and started sweeping in all directions from the entire area where eldest senior brother was standing. The world rumbled, causing drastic changes in the faces of Immortals around the area.

It was especially so for Ji An, whose eyes had begun shining with a brilliant light. He stared at Su Ming's eldest senior brother, and a solemn expression appeared on his face. Even with all his experience, he had never noticed the plans Su Ming's eldest senior brother had harbored. Only at that moment was he able to see that determination and resolve within him.

'This person has an incredibly powerful will… that was why he was able to retain a small portion of his will even after he was controlled by Di Tian, and that will was resisting all this while in the depths of his soul. But the way he resisted was a little unique. He didn't struggle, but instead used Di Tian's power to stimulate his blood, which was equivalent to Di Tian helping him gain the greatest boost in the evolution of his blood.

'He even cut off his own head so that his blood would return to that which belonged to his ancestors. With Di Tian's power, he allowed himself to successfully turn into Xing Gan's will and bravery. This person… is the same as Su Ming. They're both incredibly difficult to deal with, and by the looks of it, this Xing Gan's presence is even a little stronger than Su Ming's!

'The things he told Su Ming previously belonged to Di Tian, but were also his own words! It was especially so when he used his head to knock against Su Ming previously. No one would be able to see anything off with his actions just now… but they're fellow brothers under the same Master, so it's clear that Su Ming had been able to detect something.'

Ji An's expression turned dark. The process of forming his deductions after the events was much easier compared to forming all those guesses before everything happened.

It was just as Ji An had thought. Su Ming had mentioned that he had come to understand something earlier, and what he had come to understand was the meaning behind his eldest senior brother's actions. His eldest senior brother was a blade, and the person holding onto that blade was Di Tian. That blade wanted to become sharper, and it needed a whetstone.

Su Ming understood his eldest senior brother's intentions, and he was willing to become that whetstone and sharpen… the blade used by Xing Tian [1] to fight against the heaven!

The moment the edges of the blade were sharpened marked the instant the blade would turn against the person controlling it. Not only did the act of sending his own head flying into the air show how fierce and powerful eldest senior brother's will was, he had also managed to cut off all ties connecting him to Di Tian.

That was why the Di Tian which had appeared from the head when it flew up had shown disbelief on his face. As his soul disappeared and eldest senior brother lifted his body from the ground, the face that was protruding from his chest seemed to look at the sky.

During that instant, a muffled roar that shook the sky erupted from eldest senior brother's mouth.

"Youngest junior brother, I don't know where Master went. His presence has disappeared from the land of Berserkers, but I can sense that he hasn't died… However, your second senior brother's presence is incredibly weak… He's in Great Leaf Immortal Sect!

"No matter the results of this battle, you must go to the land of Berserkers' Great Leaf Immortal Sect and save… your second senior brother!" Eldest senior brother's voice reverberated in the air until the ground trembled and the sky roared.

"Youngest junior brother, your cultivation base is still showing signs of increasing, and you still can reach an even higher level of cultivation, but your heart is not resolute. I can tell that the world of Berserkers has acknowledged you. The world of Berserkers' kismet is upon you, and you are… the fourth God of Berserkers!

"But you still haven't acknowledged the world of Berserkers and the kismet in you. You also haven't acknowledged the status of the fourth God of Berserkers. I will fight this battle for you. Think carefully on whether you want to accept the title of God of Berserkers!"

Eldest senior brother was usually a man of few words, but at that moment, he uttered a long string of them. Almost at the same time he said al that, he took a step towards midair.

During that instant, Ji An's pupils shrank. He could feel a wave of killing intent and savagery from Xing Gan. Ji An moved and formed a seal with his hands before he swung his arm. Immediately, an endless amount of light hoops appeared around his body. Those light hoops surrounded him like a dimensional mouth. At the moment that happened, an eerie and sinister presence swiftly spread out.

Su Ming's eldest senior brother closed in and lifted the battle axe in his hand to cut down on Ji An.

A booming sound surged into the sky. These two people immediately started fighting fiercely. The near hundred imperishable Shaman Souls on the ground lifted their heads, and at the same time sobriety returned to their faces. They roared towards the sky, then cut off their heads at the same time. Once they became similar existences to Su Ming's eldest senior brother, their heads turned into battle axes. When they held them, they instantly flew up and charged towards Ji An.

Su Ming was silent by the side. As he watched his headless eldest senior brother fight against Ji An and listened to the continuous rumbles in the world, what appeared in his head was his eldest senior brother's words. They branded themselves in his heart.

It was indeed as eldest senior brother had said. Within the depths of Su Ming's heart, he had not acknowledged the world of Berserkers and its kismet. He did not have the desire to become the God of Berserkers.

If his memories of Dark Mountain were fake and if everything was fake, then he was not a Berserker and he did not have the blood of Berserkers flowing in his veins. If he continued tracing back, he would find that the memories of his childhood were clearly different from those of other Berserkers. The only reason he had succeeded in the first Berserkers' Initiation and obtained the right to practice the ways of Berserkers was because of...

Su Ming touched the black stone fragment that had been hanging over his chest for many years. It was all because of it.

Su Ming was feeling slightly miserable in his heart. In truth, he had noticed a long time ago that he was a tree without roots. He floated in the sky and did not know where he was supposed to go and where he could return to, neither did he know… where he was born.

In this state, he was indeed unable to acknowledge the world of Berserkers, its kismet, and that he could possibly be that God of Berserkers.

"I'm not a Berserker…" Su Ming mumbled.

The rumbles in the sky continued. Eighteen gigantic statues appeared behind Ji An. Each of them looked incredibly strange and evil, and all of them had different appearances. There were some in the form of people, and some in the forms of beasts. They were filled with ferociousness and evil, and they were also exuding an eerie and chilling presence.

There were also presences akin to those of vengeful souls on the eighteen statues. However, they were not filled with grudges. They were instead filled with bloodthirst and murderous intent. It was as if they were not creatures that existed in the world, but came from the boundless galaxy. They were ferocious spirits that had drifted about for years.

Their roars were incredibly unique. While sounding piercing to the ears, they were also sonorous. When anyone heard them, they would find their Qi and blood flowing backwards, their heartbeats increasing, and their emotions changing.

As Su Ming looked at the eighteen statues, his pupils suddenly shrank. He seemed to have recalled something and felt that the roars from these ferocious, murderous fiends from the world beyond sounded rather familiar. It was as if he had heard them somewhere before.

Yet right at the moment this sense of familiarity appeared but before Su Ming had the time to mull over it carefully, a loud boom that sounded as if the sky had shattered suddenly traveled from the sky.

At the instant these roars rang out, a presence that did not belong to the land of Berserkers spilled out from the sky. Su Ming sensed it instantly, because at the moment that presence came down, his body immediately started showing signs of decaying.

Su Ming swiftly lifted his head. When he looked up, he saw the two gigantic Runes that had originally been there but had later on been hidden away by the distortions in the sky!

The presence that did not belong to a Berserker but clearly was one of an Immortal was spreading out from the Runes in the vortex, which looked as if they had sunken quite considerably.

"Bright Yang's presence!"

Su Ming narrowed his eyes. His past self would have been completely unable to withstand the Bright Yang's presence. Yet now, he had one half of a Bright Yang Stone sealed within his body. As he continuously resisted that presence, he could last a little longer under compared to his past self.

His eyes sparkled at that moment, and with one move, he charged towards the two Runes in the sky. He did not need to listen to the excited voices coming from the tens of thousands of Immortals underneath. He could tell himself that there were… Immortals descending to the place.

Almost at the instant Su Ming closed in, the booming sounds instantly increased exponentially. Right before everyone's eyes, two gigantic light hoops appeared, shining with a piercing light in the sky. They descended to the ground with a bang, forming two gigantic pillars of light that connected the sky and earth.

Several figures could be seen within the two pillars of light as they shone. In their distorted and indistinct states, these figures gradually appeared, and as if they were being elongated, as the forms of these figures gathered together and shrank, their bodies slowly showed up.

Almost at the moment these people showed up but before they completely regained their forms, Su Ming closed in on them with killing intent surging within him. He was so fast that he rushed into one of the pillars of light in the blink of an eye. At the instant he stepped in, black fog that surged into the sky immediately spread out from his body. He was not letting out this black fog intentionally, but due to the thick and dense power of Bright Yang, it had naturally come out from within him as his body withered and aged.

Su Ming's body started aging quickly, but not only did his speed not decrease, he instead traveled even faster. He quelled the pain that had appeared all over his body due to the power of Bright Yang and lifted his right hand swiftly to swing it in the direction before him.

With it, three of the people who had yet to regain their forms immediately trembled, and shrill screams of pain came from another dimension. The three figures instantly crumbled and disappeared into the air.

Su Ming did not stop for even a single moment. In a flash, he tapped another figure who had regained most of his or her form with his right index finger. As that figure shattered, Su Ming stomped the air beneath him, and with it, a large amount of ripples spread out violently under his feet.

The ripples caused the three nearest figures to immediately begin trembling, and they exploded with a bang. Su Ming moved and clenched his right hand into a fist before punching the final figure in this pillar of light.

This punch contained the full force Su Ming could gather within the later stage in the Berserker Soul Realm. Along with the power he gained after turning his entire body into that of a true Berserker, even Di Tian's clone would need to be wary of this punch. As he hurled his fist forward, he punched the figure that had regained most of his or her form.

Translator's Note:

1. Xing Tian: This is probably what Xing Gan was based upon. He was a nameless giant serving under the Flame/Red Emperor. After the Flame/Red Emperor was killed, he swore revenge and brought a shield and a blade to fight against the Yellow Emperor (the one who killed Flame/Red Emperor). But he lost and his head was cut off, but then even after his head was cut off, he continued fighting. His face appeared on his chest as well. After that, he was known as Xing Tian. This came from Classic of Mountains and Seas: Classic of Regions beyond the Seas, West.