Pursuit of the Truth

Sun Sinking Talisman was one of the three great mysteries in True Morning Dao World. It was on the same level of mysteriousness as the Heavenly Incense Rune and Yin Death Region. No one knew its origins, and just like the Heavenly Incense Rune, it had existed since before True Morning Dao World had been born.

Over the countless years, an unknown number of cultivators had come to this place. They had all tried to investigate Sun Sinking Talisman. Many even came with the intention to take the runic symbol for themselves and become its master.

But no one had ever succeeded. Droves of cultivators had come. Each one of them had left, while the runic symbol remained in the galaxy. It seemed like it would stay there for all eternity and would never disappear. It had watched True Morning Dao World walk to its glory, and then how it fell into emptiness.

Throughout it all, it floated quietly without getting in anyone’s way. It seemed like it would be this way even if another million years passed.

Compared to the vortex in Yin Death Region, which did not allow anyone in, the Sun Sinking Talisman was like a wide opened gate which allowed all cultivators in.

It also did not have the strange power of the Heavenly Incense Rune which could make clones independent and charm all cultivators, making them unable to free themselves from the addicting feeling of their levels of cultivation reaching false breakthroughs. Many souls had been injured like this. In fact, with just the least bit of carelessness, it was possible to get stuck in the Rune for all time.

In comparison, the Sun Sinking Talisman was much gentler in nature. If cultivators could reach it, then they could leave it as they liked. They would not come to any harm by visiting it.

The only thing they would have to suffer was… their cultivation bases being suppressed in the pitch-black world. Their divine senses would also be restrained, making it impossible for them to see beyond themselves. This turned all cultivators into mortals. Even if they opened their eyes, they would be blind. Yet this seemed to be the only use of the Sun Sinking Talisman.

That was why compared to the Heavenly Incense Rune and Yin Death Region, much more people had visited the Sun Sinking Talisman; after all, it was the safest place. However, for this to be true… there had to be no murderers among those who entered.

Over the countless years, plenty of people had died in the black world surrounding the Sun Sinking Talisman. Yet it was known to all that the people who had died did not do so because they were attacked by some sort of strange power from the Sun Sinking Talisman. They were actually killed by the people who had entered the place with them. Due to the strangeness of the place and other motives, they had attacked their companions.

At that moment, Su Ming’s clone was clearly thinking about this.

Su Ming stood on the Resentful Wei that had rushed into the black world. At the instant he stepped inside, Su Ming sensed a powerful pressure press down on his divine sense, forcing it to instantly bounce back into his body. He could only spread it on his skin and no farther.

To cultivators, losing their divine sense was equivalent to losing an eye, and if that was not enough, there was also no light in the place. It was pitch black. The darkness was so deep that even if a person focused his vision, they could not make out anything. This was equivalent to losing the other eyes as well. In other words, once any cultivator entered the black world, they were completely blind.

At the same time, Su Ming’s cultivation base was also greatly suppressed at the instant he entered the black world. This suppression was not at all weak, but incredibly powerful. Su Ming instantly fell from Fate Realm to Mastery Realm, and judging by the fact that it didn’t stop, it was likely that the closer Su Ming drew to the center, the greater the suppression on his cultivation base would become.

A cold sneer appeared at the corners of Su Ming’s lips. He did not hesitate. He moved forward along with the Resentful Wei, not even searching for the clone. He believed that the clone would come to him on his own.

In fact, even if he did not come, Su Ming would still have his ways to track him down.

After all, Su Ming had pushed the clone into having no better option than to come to the Sun Sinking Talisman. Clearly, during the chase, the clone had turned into an existence akin to a prey in his eyes. With ingenious pushes and his pursuit, the clone’s only choice had become this place.

Su Ming’s expression remained the same as he went forward. He might not be able to see his surroundings, but the Resentful Wei was incredibly familiar with such complete darkness. As it charged forward, it did not show any discomfort.

Su Ming had foreseen this. After all, the Resentful Wei came from the void existing in the Relocation spots within Divine Essence Star Ocean. That world might have seemed colorful, but there were plenty of places in it that were bathed in yearlong darkness.

The Resentful Wei lived there, so it was only natural that its familiarity with darkness was much greater than that of normal people. This was one of the reasons why Su Ming had chosen this place. When he closed his eyes, his mind fused with the Resentful Wei’s. He used the Resentful Wei’s eyes and saw the dark world, which was something very few cultivators got to see.

It was a gray world with no other color present in it. The area around him was empty except for a huge, gray screen of light in front of him. It moved about continuously as if it was a ball of flames.

With the Resentful Wei’s eyes, Su Ming swept his gaze around the area. He did not see the clone’s figure. However, the black world was really vast, so it was not surprising for him to be unable to find the clone within the small area his eyes could see.

Su Ming’s shut eyes moved slightly. He did not open them, but raised his right hand and clenched his fist in the air.

‘It does not matter whether you are willing to stay here. Since you came to this place, don’t think about leaving.’ A hint of arrogance appeared on Su Ming’s face, a confidence that he had everything in his grasp.

When he clenched his right fist, the clone shot out of the pitch-black world on the other side. His eyes instantly brightened up. When he turned his head around, the corners of his lips lifted up in a ferocious sneer that was full of smugness.

‘You are the original body, so my personality and manner of thinking are affected by you. That is why if there is a possibility for you to understand my thoughts, there is also a possibility for me to trick you.

‘While you were chasing after me, my instinctive thought was to find a place which could limit you and allow me to devour you. That is why I chose this place.

‘But that is just an act of deception. Hmph, I wanted to lure you to this place and then leave you in this dark world. Su Ming, go on, continue believing in yourself. I know you’re sure that I will attack on my own in this place. When you find out that there is something off, I will have long since left True Morning Dao World!’

The clone let out a cold bark of laughter and charged into the distance. Yet when he was about to leave the place, a buzzing sound reverberated in space. The instant the clone heard it, his expression changed, and he came to an abrupt halt.

His face was incredibly dark. He no longer moved forward but retreated backwards, because he saw a white layer of ripples that looked like a board in front of him, and it was charging towards him. By the looks of it, the ripples near him were just a small part of the whole. They had spread through the entire region that belonged to the Sun Sinking Talisman!

The ripples were Su Ming’s supreme treasure. The instant he stepped into the place, he had sent the supreme treasure away from his body and made it float above him. It had enlarged until it covered the entire region belonging to the Sun Sinking Talisman, then it turned into ripples and formed a seal akin to a cage.

This meant that the place had truly turned into a prison. If the clone tried to force his way out, he might immediately get sealed by the mighty pressure of the supreme treasure. This forced him to retreat and return to the pitch-black world in the Sun Sinking Talisman.

“Damn it!”

For the first time, panic appeared on the clone’s face. He had thought that he had predicted all of Su Ming’s moves, but every single time, Su Ming showed up to be one step ahead of him. There was no way for the clone to leave the area.

‘If you want to die, then I will fulfill your wish!’

The clone no longer had any other choice. He gritted his teeth, and madness appeared on his face. Even if his cultivation base was restricted and he could not spread out his divine sense, it did not matter to the clone. To him, they were just external objects. His real strength lay in his physical body.

With a loud whistle, the clone rushed through the pitch-black world. With killing intent and madness in its eyes, he started sweeping through the place.

Su Ming stood with a calm expression on the charging beast. Within the pitch-black world, he saw a gray galaxy with the Resentful Wei’s eyes.

As time trickled by, Su Ming’s cultivation was suppressed more and more. The closer he drew to the core, the worse it became. Soon, he was going to be suppressed to the state of only being in Solar Kalpa Realm.

At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared within the gray world. It was formed of countless threads and exuded a presence that did not mix with the world. The instant the presence appeared, it immediately devoured the gray shade around it.

Even if Su Ming could only see the outline, he could tell at first glance that it was his clone. He could not see the clone’s expression, but he could sense a thick foreboding air from the threads forming the figure.

The clone had been moving in another direction, but its figure suddenly stopped in its tracks and looked at Su Ming. This scene birthed a thought in Su Ming’s heart.

‘Awareness. Once he gained his independent will, he should have awakened the awareness within his physical body that comes from the Crimson Python Phoenix. That’s why it can vaguely sense my existence in the darkness.’

Su Ming had come to a quick understanding of what had happened. At that moment, the clone turned and charged towards him without a sound. He had already lifted his right hand, and a killing seemed to be swiftly gathering on his fist.

‘Even if most of his strength comes from his physical body, he is still suppressed in this place. Based on how much time he used to gather his power, his level of cultivation should have been suppressed till he is only in Mastery Realm.’

Su Ming’s lips curled into a cold sneer. He watched the clone charge towards him. Soon, his eyes shone, and he lifted his right foot, stepping off the Resentful Wei. In a instant, he appeared in front of the clone. The clone’s expression changed swiftly, as if he had noticed him. He wanted to move back, but it was too late. Su Ming raised his right hand and went to swiftly capture him. The clone let out a low growl, then raised his right hand, gathered all his power in it, and threw a punch towards Su Ming’s incoming right hand.

Booming sounds erupted in the black world, and Su Ming let out a harrumph. He did not move back, but instead went forward. As for the clone, his expression had changed drastically. Coughing up blood, he fell back swiftly.