Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-974

Chapter 974: Has… He Died

There was no way people who became Masters of Fate, Lives, and Death could be easily deceived. Even if not a single flaw could be found once the supreme treasure and the bald crane worked together and even if not a single mistake in Su Ming’s not just similar but extremely alike acting!

Even if the power that erupted from him was also the exact same as the blue flames obtained in Burning Spirit Transformation.

However… if it could have deceived Dust Burners’ Progenitor, then he would not have survived up till then. Progenitor… would also not be worthy of being known as a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death.

Old men who had lived this long and who had become Almighties all possessed monster-like intelligence.

The breathing of Dust Burners’ tribe leader quickened slightly. He cast an eye and the child-looking Progenitor and could not keep his heart calm. He had… been deceived.

He had come to believe that Su Ming was his older brother’s orphan son, yet with a single sentence from Progenitor, things turned over their heads.

“This is…” The middle-aged man could not say anything even after a long while had passed. “Progenitor, then why do you still want to help him activate the kiln and get close to it? For this person… you even spared no pains in having flames cover the entire Divine Essence Star Ocean once the kiln is activated, and are willing for Dust Burners to be sealed for nearly a month?”

Dust Burners’ Progenitor was silent while standing at the top of the lofty tower. By his side was the eye of the flame. He looked at the sky, and after a long while, he sighed softly.

“I might not know who sent him here… but I admire his courage and resolve. I also admire him for telling the truth. There are only a few people in the world who would still tell the truth when they were in his situation,” Dust Burners’ Progenitor said softly.

“I can see the complicated emotions within him. Part of them is due to me showing him love as an elder, and the other is due to him lying to me. He did not choose to hide these complicated emotions. Even I was uncertain because of them for a moment, but they also caused my killing intent to dissipate. If not for all this, I would have killed him right away.” Dust Burners’ Progenitor shook his head, and an ancient look appeared on his face.

“I still don’t understand…” A freezing glare appeared in the tribe leader’s eyes. If it was him, he would have definitely not let Su Ming to just leave like that. How dare he disguise himself as a Dust Burner? This was a taboo!

“You don’t understand, huh..?” Dust Burners’ Progenitor averted his gaze from the sky and fixed his eyes on the middle-aged man. “Then there is no need for you to continue trying to understand it. Activate the kiln.”

Dust Burners’ Progenitor did not say anything anymore. The middle-aged man’s mindset might have changed due to Su Ming’s matter, but he still bowed his head and voiced his obedience. He took a step forward and stepped straight into the eye of the flame. He moved in the flames, and in an instant, he turned into a Burning Spirit.

Flames spread out with a bang. From the distance, it seemed as if the tall tower had turned into a gigantic torch!

A piercing roar spread out in all directions from the flames. All the Dust Burners who heard it were momentarily stunned, but they soon charged towards the tower that was the closest to them.

After a moment, flames spread out from the countless rising and falling towers on the entire continent. They formed torches on the land, and after the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, all the towers turned into burning torches. A vast amount of power erupted from them with a bang.

A buzzing sound echoed throughout the area. The entire land of Dust Burners shuddered. Almost all Dust Burners had turned into Burning Spirits at that moment.

This lasted for three days. It was an offering. If someone wanted to activate the fifth kiln, then all Dust Burners had to make an offering to do it.

Three days later, all Dust Burners disappeared from the ground. The fog in the area enveloped the whole place. At that moment, a surging sea of fire erupted from the fifth kiln and swept through Divine Essence Star Ocean, forcing countless living beings into hiding as they trembled for their lives. If they were exposed outside, they would definitely die.

This would last for nearly a month. When it ended, Dust Burners would reappear in the inner part of Divine Essence Star Ocean.

When all Dust Burners who were qualified to make the offering blended into the fire and transformed into burning torches on the ground, Progenitor swayed and disappeared from the tower. When he reappeared, he was at the top of a tall mountain. Over there, he sat down quietly and looked at the sky. Fatigue and something ancient appeared on his face.

‘Why should I help him…?’ Dust Burners’ Progenitor shook his head.

‘That’s because I didn’t want to bring a huge problem to Dust Burners… Because the method he chose was within the area I could accept. Because… he let me feel as if I had found a truly talented Dust Burner for the past few days.

‘He has a treasure that can turn him into a Dust Burner. It’s definitely not something a normal Master of Fate, Lives, and Death could create. If he could reach this level of cultivation, then the power of the person supporting him behind his back is even higher.

‘The time for my decline is nigh. The person who can take over my place has already obtained enough power, but to take over the burden of an entire race does not just require power… but also the making of a choice.

‘Oh well, if he wants to go to the Fifth True World, why should I stop him and bring unnecessary trouble to my people… However, while I can activate the kiln for you… whether or not you will have the ability to step in will depend entirely on your own luck.’

Dust Burners’ Progenitor lowered his head. Everything that he had said to Su Ming was true. The purple flames in the kiln were indeed the weakest flames… but their heat was next to the black flames’ heat. Under that high temperature, all those who wanted to get close to the kiln and step in would not only need a sufficient level of cultivation, but also a serendipitous event.

“If he was truly a Dust Burner, how great… would that be?” Dust Burners’ Progenitor mumbled under his breath. As his figure was illuminated by the endless torches on the ground, he was surrounded by an ancient and lonely air, along with worry about his race’s future because he felt as if he had no successor.

This was an old man who had already reached the end of his path. He did not want to bring about trouble to his race. If he could pass through this possible disaster and have everything change without a sound, then it would be the best choice.

…..

Su Ming sat in the area where the fifth kiln was located and watched the piercingly bright kiln. He could not see the kiln’s appearance, only a ball of strong light.

He could also sense a vast and might pressure within that light.

The fifth kiln was akin to a sun, making people unable to help themselves as respect formed in their hearts, but Su Ming felt no respect as he remained in his silence. There were only complicated emotion within him.

‘In the past, he came to this place with the kiln… and he brought with him his wife and the cursed baby.’ Su Ming stared at the kiln, and resolve suddenly appeared in his eyes.

‘Has he truly died, or is he?’ Uncertainty appeared on Su Ming’s face. After a long while, he sighed. He did not want to continue thinking about this.

If Su Xuan Yi had truly died, then he would let it slide, but if that person was still around… Su Ming could not help the great resentment that rose in him. The emotion was so great that it caused him to clench his fists.

“Senior… what… happened just now?” Xuan Shang’s voice echoed in Su Ming’s heart, and it cut off the surging emotions that had risen due to his thoughts about Su Xuan Yi.

“We didn’t manage to hear anything from the moment Dust Burners’ Progenitor returned to to talk to you. Some form of power cut off our connection with you as well as the body,” Xu Hui said softly.

Su Ming’s pupils shrank swiftly.

“That’s right, senior. What did Dust Burners’ Progenitor say to you? And this place… this… this is…”

“Could… Could this place be the fifth kiln?!”

“We actually arrived here?!”

Su Ming’s connection with Xuan Shang, Yun You, Nian Yi, Hua Yu, and Xu Hui had clearly been restored just then, and only at that moment could they sense the body too. They immediately noticed the fifth kiln, which was shining with a bright light.

As Su Ming’s pupils shrank, he frowned. After a long while, he sighed. If he still did not understand what had happened, then he would not be worthy of having lived through years of hard experiences.

“He knows that I am not a Dust Burner. The words he said previously were also aimed solely at me. He did not want anyone else to hear them.” A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes before he fell into contemplative silence.

After a moment, he stopped caring about Xuan Shang and the others in his group. He only sent a divine thought to Xu Hui to ease her mind before he charging into the distance. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the area around the fifth kiln.

…..

On the first day of the kiln being activated, wind rose in the galaxy within the inner part of Divine Essence Star Ocean. This was an incredibly rare thing. There was no wind within the galaxy, so when this wind rose and blew in all directions, the bodies of all living creatures who sensed it shuddered. No matter what they were doing, be it fighting, searching for food, or sleeping, all of them revealed expressions of extreme terror.

In the planet serving as a nest for Flame Fiends, the creatures who had gained human form after they occupied the bodies of cultivators were sleeping, but at that moment, all of them were shocked awake. They looked at the sky and sensed the wind from the galaxy as well as a hint of scorching flames. Immediately, they screamed shrilly.

There were many Void Beasts in the galaxy, but when the wind blew past them, all of them quickly revealed their bodies and headed into the distance with an unprecedented speed. There was terror on their faces, and they roared in voices that echoed in all directions.

Things like this happened in all the nests with ferocious beasts once the wind blew past them.

The thing that would happen after the wind began to blow was deeply branded in their memories. This was a disaster affecting the entire Divine Essence Star Ocean. Before the brunt of the disaster came, they had to search for a place where they could hide for a month.

If they were slow, then what awaited them would only be death.

There were numerous planets with green flora on them. When the wind blew past them, they instantly turned black and withered away, reduced to ashes. Soon, all the planets in the inner part of Divine Essence Star Ocean looked as if they had died.

Heaven Traversers had now migrated to a new place, but when the wind reached them, the expression of their Progenitor changed. With his fastest speed, he executed all his divine abilities, and with a bang, turned into a gigantic palm that enveloped all Heaven Traversers within it.

Virtue Rooters were a race possessing snake bodies. Once the wind whistled through space, all of them hid themselves deep underground.

Similar things happened everywhere within the inner part of Divine Essence Star Ocean. All sorts of living creatures of all shapes and sizes, and even powerful ferocious beasts, reacted in this manner.

Because they knew… that the fifth kiln was about to be activated.