Pursuit of the Truth

“Break the gate.”

When Su Ming said those words faintly, the eyes of the five white dogs sparkled. They were all powerful Dao Paragons from One Dao Sect and Asura Clan, and they were all at Xu Zhong Fan’s level. In any sect, they would be great sect elders.

If the five of them worked together, then in a certain sense, they could even change how a sect operated. Yet right then, they were forced to follow Su Ming, and because of it, there was always a ball of anger burning in them, but they did not dare show any hint of it.

When Su Ming spoke, the five of them immediately howled. They might be animals, but before they left the house, their cultivation bases had been completely restored. Hence, aside from the fact that Su Ming had their lives in his hands and that their bodies had been transformed, their levels of cultivation were no different from before.

The five white dogs attacked at full strength, and their power was equivalent to five powerful Dao Paragons attacking at full strength. Loud rumbles instantly echoed through the cave, creating endless echoes that made the cave tremble. When the cultivators outside heard it, it sounded like someone was roaring.

The ice door immediately let out cracking sounds. Yet when the noise appeared, Su Ming narrowed his eyes. The gate shattered, but the next moment, it returned to its unbroken state. It was as if the five Dao Paragons could not break the gate.

However… a string of simple words appeared on the ice gate.

“If you want to enter my sect, then perform the ceremony of three bows and nine kneels. Those who are fated can enter!”

Su Ming stared at the string of words. He now knew why Guru Xing Chen had been able to enter, but he would definitely be unable to do it. He could formally acknowledge Gu Hong as his Master because the old man was indeed sincere to him, but there was no way he would bow to Xuan Zang.

An aloof look appeared in his eyes. He took a step forward and arrived before the gate. He lifted his left hand and pushed at the gate, then flung his right hand backwards. When he flipped his palm up, the five white dogs approached him and touched his right hand, or rather, they touched the mark of the crescent moon on his palm.

The five white dogs’ vast cultivation bases instantly surged into Su Ming’s body through his right hand. At the same time, a dark light shone in his eyes.

The moment he pushed his left hand against the ice gate, he said faintly, “Time reversal.”

He wanted to use his cultivation base to reverse the time on the ice gate, making it return to the moment countless years ago before it was formed!

Su Ming had no idea how much time would be reversed, but it was the only way for him to break open the gate!

The air around Su Ming started distorting. It was the sign of the reversal of time. Soon, a reflection appeared on the ice gate. It reflection was not of Su Ming… but Guru Xing Chen.

From the reflection, it could be seen that Guru Xing Chen had come many years ago and kowtowed repeatedly at the door. When his figure disappeared, White Five shuddered and fell down. All its cultivation base had been sucked away, and it began to circulate it immediately, trying its best to recover at the fastest speed possible.

After all, the power that sucked out its cultivation base did not remain in its body, and the foundation was still there. Only when the foundation was destroyed could someone turn their target’s cultivation base into their own possession, which was why the method of borrowing power would not affect White Five by too much.

Several breaths passed, and the white dogs behind Su Ming fell down one after another. At that moment, the ice gate in front of Su Ming began growing thinner. Soon, it was reduced to the point it looked like a thin layer of skin, then vanished.

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled swiftly. He saw a scene that no one else was capable of.

He saw the back of a figure dressed in black robes. While standing in front of him, it lifted its right hand in the direction of the empty spot where the ice gate originally was. Su Ming would never forget that back. It… belonged to Xun Zang!

Not many changes of expression could be detected on his face, however. He only cast a single glance before taking a step forward and walking into the cave abode.

At the instant he moved in, the ice gate behind him reappeared in its full form, and the chilling air it exuded was aggressive, but at that moment, Su Ming was already standing inside the cave abode.

When he swept his gaze past the area, the first thing he saw was a huge ancient mirror. A cushion was positioned right in front of it.

There were six chambers in the cave abode. Three of them were opened, while the other three were sealed tight.

When he moved his gaze away from them, Su Ming went to the first sealed chamber. After a moment of pensive silence, he lifted his right hand and touched the stone wall. The moment he did so, a layer of ripples appeared on the stone wall. When they ripples spread out, the stone wall gradually became transparent.

Su Ming was then able to see through the stone wall. There was a corpse sitting cross-legged in the chamber. A huge medicinal cauldron was before as if the person had been making cores before he died.

There were also some racks in the chamber. They held quite a number of medicinal bottles, but most of them had already fallen. There were many broken bottles and a mess of medicinal cores on the ground.

But there were some medicinal bottles that were still whole. There might not be many of them, but based on the light shining from within them, Su Ming could tell just how extraordinary the medicinal cores inside them were.

Su Ming’s eyes shone, but he frowned. When he lifted his right hand, the ripples on the stone door to the chamber froze and disappeared. He could no longer see inside the chamber.

‘It’s a pity that the power to reverse time is something I can’t use here with my current level of cultivation… The power I have remaining in me is only enough to go out.’

In silence, Su Ming moved to the second sealed chamber. Again, he lifted his right hand, and the instant he touched the stone door, ripples immediately spread out of the second sealed door, and it became invisible.

It allowed Su Ming to see another corpse in the chamber. It clearly belonged to a woman. She sat in the room with a Feng Shui compass in front of her. A corner of it was missing, which made it likely that the woman was using the last ounce of her strength to repair it.

Su Ming cast his gaze on the Feng Shui compass, and as he stared at it, a dark light shone in his eyes. If he magnified that Feng Shui compass countless times, he was sure it was the one Xuan Zang had sat upon in his memories!

In silence, Su Ming took his right hand off the door and walked to the final sealed chamber. At the moment he touched the door with his right hand, his pupils shrank. He felt as if an ear-shattering roar had echoed in his heart.

That roar felt incredibly real. When the ripples spread out and the door became invisible, Su Ming finally saw what had brought about that roar in his heart!

It was… a black python. There was a ferocious dragon head on the python’s tail. At that moment, be it the python or the dragon head, both were hissing and roaring at him from behind the stone door.

As they roared, an invisible impact seemed to seep through the stone door and land on Su Ming’s body, crashing against his memories. Under it, Su Ming felt as if his mind had been torn apart, and the image of a galaxy forcefully entered his mind.

That galaxy had countless planets, and they were rapidly rearranging themselves together to form a huge whip!

“Those who enter the abode are fated. Three doors may be opened, and the other three will not open unless someone is the master of the room. I will grant you the projection of the Space Whip so that you can search for my master!”

The voice sounded ancient, and when it resounded in Su Ming’s mind like thunder, causing him to tremble. He took his right hand off the door and staggered three steps back. Blood trickled out of the corners of his mouth. When he lifted his head, he stared at the stone door that was swiftly becoming non-transparent.

When he looked over again, he did not see any python or dragon head. What he saw was a red bracelet made of thin string floating in the chamber!

That item was the thread Su Ming remembered to be binding the nine Reversed Spirit Pearls that Xuan Zang held in his right hand!

Su Ming wiped off the blood at the corners of his mouth. His goal for coming was the Space Whip, after all. A glint appeared in his eyes, and when he brought his right hand up, the power of time gathered on him. He then pointed at the stone door leading to where the Space Whip was located.

The moment Su Ming pointed at the door, it let out a bang, and a huge rebound tumbled at Su Ming. It had reflected the power of time reversal right back at him. When it was about to envelop Su Ming, he swung his arm, and the power of time reversal instantly vanished.

His face was dark when he stared at the stone door for a long period of time.

‘Time reversal is useless on this door…’

Su Ming frowned. He swept his gaze past the cave abode, and then his eyes landed on the ancient mirror. At the instant he saw it, he thought of something. He approached the mirror, then saw his face in the reflection. It belonged to Wang Tao.

He stared at the ancient mirror quietly, then sank into contemplation before sitting down cross-legged on the cushion. At the instant he sat down and looked at the ancient mirror, a brilliant sparkle appeared in his eyes.

“As expected,” he said softly.

As he stared at the ancient mirror, he no longer saw Wang Tao, and neither did he see himself… Instead, he saw a face he would never forget… It belonged to Xuan Zang, who was clothed in black and meditating!

‘If that’s the case…’

Su Ming sighed softly and lifted his right hand to cut the tip of his finger. When blood poured out, he swung his right hand. Immediately, three drops of fresh blood flew out and landed on the three sealed doors.

At the instant he did so, the three stone doors rumbled and turned blood-red. Then, they started spreading outwards as if they were melting. Soon, all the stone doors… opened!

At the instant the stone doors were open, the Space Whip, which had the head of a python and the tail of a dragon head charged at him.

Su Ming was silent and did not dodge. Instead, a resolute light shone in his eyes. He lifted his right hand and extended it at the incoming python. At the moment it closed in on him, the body of the snake vanished to turn into a red thread that bound itself around Su Ming’s right wrist.

At the same time, the Feng Shui compass in the chamber with the woman’s corpse flew out with a buzz. When it approached Su Ming, it merged with the cushion beneath him, and it turned into a huge Feng Shui compass!

Su Ming lifted his head quietly, then looked at the ancient mirror again when a loud rumble shook the sky and earth in the cave abode. It sounded like the earth was shaking and the mountains were moving.

“I am not you,” Su Ming said faintly.