The man and the dragon came and brought Wan Qiu away with them. Besides the strength of his power, the red-haired Su Ming also brought with him a domineering presence that could not be found on the usual Su Ming.
That domineering presence caused Wan Qiu to revere him while harboring mixed feelings within her heart, even though he left in silence.
As dawn was about to be over, the red-haired Su Ming stood on a remote mountain far from Autumn Sea Tribe. The blood dragon hovered in the sky and would protect the area when Su Ming casted that Secret Art.
Wan Qiu stood behind him and watched the red-haired man before her with a complicated look. Besides a slight similarity in his appearance, this person was completely different from the Su Ming in her memories.
"I am going to use you to cast a Secret Art. You can be as unwilling as you like, but if you control yourself and do this willingly, then you’ll be in less pain." Once the red-haired Su Ming finished speaking, he turned around and his gaze fell on Wan Qiu.
"Are… you Su Ming?" Wan Qiu remained silent for a moment before she bit her lip and asked in a bare whisper.
"Yes!" As Su Ming answered, he lifted his right hand and swung it before him. Immediately, a layer of red fog spread out and covered Wan Qiu within. He took a step forward and walked into the fog.
Time pa.s.sed by slowly. The sky gradually brightened up. Noon came, and the sunlight brought down scorching heat onto the ground. However, it was freezing cold in the remote mountain where the blood dragon was. As the cold wave of air crashed into the heatwave, distortions appeared in the air.
The noon sun weakened, the entire afternoon, too, pa.s.sed by. When the setting sun dyed the sky red and started disappearing slowly, the red fog at the peak of the remote mountain also started slowly thinning out.
When midnight arrived and moonlight illuminated the land with its gentle rays, the fog at the peak of the mountain disappeared completely. The red-haired Su Ming walked out from within. His lips were no longer purple, but had already returned to a pink hue. However, his long hair was still in that strangely captivating bright red shade. Once it was set against his red robes, it made him seem as if he had turned into another person.
"Di Tian…" Su Ming mumbled. He stood at the peak of the mountain and spread out his divine sense swiftly. This time, his divine sense had become even greater than it was a day before yesterday. Once it covered the area, Su Ming closed his eyes.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked towards the south.
"I don’t know where that is, and there’s no need for me to know where that is either… I only need to know that I can leave from that place and go to the Realm of the Immortals.
"There is a large amount of Immortals’ presence in the mountain to the south. I can go back to the Realm of the Immortals from there." Su Ming looked at the south and took a step forward. Immediately, the blood dragon moved with him as if it wanted to follow him.
"Acknowledge her as your master. You were a dragon vein [1] that existed on earth, but once you manifested I imbued you with my divine sense and you gained your intelligence from there. Now, I am going to leave. Stay here and become her guardian beast."
Su Ming did not turn his head back. With one step forward, his body gradually turned invisible and he disappeared in midair. The blood dragon was momentarily stunned and lingered around in midair for a moment before letting out a broken-hearted howl.
It could not bear to part with this master of his, whom it had only been with for two days, because in its memories, the blood dragon was born because of its master.
As the blood dragon let out its broken-hearted howl, Wan Qiu opened her eyes at the peak of the mountain. She looked in the direction Su Ming had left. She had heard his words, and she fell silent.
All her clothes were left intact and not a single article of clothing was missing on her, and in fact, she felt as if she had just fallen asleep and had had a dream. Her expression turned incredibly complicated. She had an indescribable feeling towards this Su Ming. She should hate him, but she could not find a reason for her to hate him deeply. She should be confused, but she could not find the source.
That mixed feeling of hers made Wan Qiu lie on the mountain for a very long time before she stood up, exhausted, then walked down the mountain in a daze. The blood dragon followed behind her in accordance to Su Ming’s will.
This was the third day. Su Ming knew that he did not have much time left. He could feel the signs of slumber rising once again within him, but he still had yet to kill Di Tian. He could not find it in himself to accept wasting his time like this, not after he woke up through so much difficulty.
He walked in the sky, towards a destination that could not be seen with his naked eye but could be detected with his divine sense - a mountain located to the south of the land.
The Immortals’ presence was strong in that mountain. It was also the spot with the highest amount of dimensional cracks Su Ming could see with his divine sense. He was very certain that he could return to the Realm of the Immortals over there, and once he went back, he would use the shortest amount of time possible to find Di Tian and fight against him once more!
‘It’s a pity that the woman only fulfilled certain requirements for the Secret Art and couldn’t bring out the full potential…’ Su Ming shook his head. This was already the woman who best fit the requirements among all those he could find.
As he moved forward, he came closer to the mountain he could not see in his eyes. Gradually, the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger. His long red hair and red robes caused his entire person to look as if he had stirred up a sea of blood that was closing in rapidly on the mountain.
However, as Su Ming continued charging forward, he came to a sudden halt. His body was revealed in that sea of blood, and as he stared at the quiet emptiness before him, a chilling glint appeared in his eyes.
At the same time, the s.p.a.ce in the distance distorted and out came two people. They were a man and a woman, and one of them was old, while the other young.
The old man wore a Daoist robe. His expression when he appeared was grave, and he was staring at Su Ming with brightly burning eyes.
The woman beside him had long hair, and she was the female Immortal Su Ming had run into previously in Sky Mist City’s battlefield!
The instant she saw Su Ming with his current appearance, the woman’s eyes widened and her breathing quickened. Disbelief appeared on her face.
"Sir, which sect did you come from? I am Bai Er Yuan from Hidden Dragon Sect…"
"Begone!" The red-haired Su Ming said coldly and cut off the old man’s words. He walked forward. He did not have much time and did not want waste it over here.
The old man stared at Su Ming with a dark face, but did not attack. He could feel a strong sense of danger from Su Ming, and that sense of danger was rarely found ever since he came to the land of the Berserkers.
"Heh heh. My fellow Daoist, are you in a hurry? If that is the case, then I won’t try to stop you." The old man had lived for a long time and had already learned how to be adaptable. If he did not have full confidence, he would not easily strike. Even if he had come on orders and brought that woman along, if he really needed to release the seal on his own power, then he could use that woman to stall time.
Besides, he could tell from the direction Su Ming was going to that there was only one possible thing that could attract his attention - the Mountain of Descending. Once he recalled that the sect’s powerful warriors were in the mountain, the old man took a few steps back and cupped his fist as a show of respect before bowing with a smile.
Once that old man moved back, Su Ming walked past him, and right when they looked as if they were not going to fight against each other, the long-haired woman suddenly spoke quickly with an ashen face.
"He’s Destiny! He wants to go back to the Realm of the Immortals!"
Right when the word ‘Destiny’ fell out of the woman’s mouth, the red-haired Su Ming’s footsteps suddenly came to a halt. At the same time, once that old man got over his momentary shock, his expression changed drastically.
"What did you say?!"
"I saw Destiny before. He’s Destiny!" A complicated and terrified look appeared on the long-haired woman’s face. As she spoke, she moved back.
Su Ming frowned, then took a swift step forward, but right at the instant he took that one step, the old man behind him let out a low growl.
"Fellow Daoist, stop!" The old man’s white hair floated in the air, and a strong wave of pressure erupted forth from his body.
The instant Su Ming turned around and looked over coldly, the old man had already finished forming hand seals with his right hand and pointed at the sky. Immediately, the wind and clouds moved, and a large runic symbol appeared above. The runic symbol shone with a golden light and charged towards Su Ming with a howl.
At the same time, as the old man swung his arm forward, and a large amount of runic symbols appeared around Su Ming. These runic symbols shone with a strange light and started spinning rapidly around Su Ming.
"Cover up the Berserkers’ heavens for me. I’m going to release my seal to make him stay in this place for a while. Once I release my seal, all our fellow sect members will immediately notice and come to kill him!" The old man’s anxious words fell into the long-haired woman’s ears.
The long-haired woman looked at Su Ming with a complicated expression as she retreated with a pale face. She had originally not wanted to speak, but after a moment of hesitation and after she thought about the terrifying disaster that will appear in the Realm of the Immortals once Destiny returned, she still chose to reveal his ident.i.ty.
As she moved back, she brought out a small white bottle from her bosom, and with a complicated look on her face, she poured out a drop of blood from within. Once that drop of blood fell out, she formed some seals with her hands and opened her mouth to suck in that drop of blood. That droplet was instantly sucked into her mouth, and the woman’s gaze turned even more profound. She lifted her hands and pointed at the sky, and immediately, darkness appeared in the sky above, as if it was covered up by a layer.
The old man’s hair started moving even without wind. His presence grew increasingly stronger. In an instant, he had already surpa.s.sed the state of End among the Shamans and reached an unknown level. Yet even so, he was still incredibly wary of Su Ming.
Once the seals suppressing the old man’s power were broken, the invisible layer in the sky distorted. Bolts of lightning started swimming about in those distortions, and the air around them started tumbling about like fog. It was as if there was something in the air.
A mighty pressure enveloped the world and started spreading rapidly towards the surroundings.
"Since you’re seeking death, then I will grant you your wis.h.!.+" The red-haired Su Ming spoke coldly, and once he swept his gaze past the old man, whose presence increased explosively, he looked at the long-haired woman.
"As for you, you fulfill the requirements. You’ll be able to let my power recover a little more." As Su Ming spoke, a hint of brutality appeared on his lips in the form of a smile. That smile was strangely captivating, and when that smile entered the old man’s eyes, it made his heart thump. When that smile entered the long-haired woman’s eyes, it made her think of something, and a hint of absent-mindedness appeared on her face.
At the same time these extreme changes appeared, the middle-aged man wearing an Emperor’s cloak and crown walked out of the air, right above Sky Mist City, at the part connecting the land of the Shamans and the land of the Berserkers. That man was expressionless and his eyes were cold. Once he appeared, he did not look at the land underneath. Instead, he took a step towards the land of the Shamans, and his body instantly faded away before he disappeared into nothingness.
Translator"s Notes:
1. Dragon vein is a concept in Fengshui. Apparently dragon veins create the formation of mountains because a dragon’s Qi is almighty and all that, so for a good afterlife, the Emperors and members of the royal family were buried in these places.