Su Ming had come to understand his future path of cultivation. He had also found the different paths between Berserkers and Immortals" cultivation systems that in the end led to the same goal. Perhaps more accurately speaking, all the races in the universe walked down different paths that led to the same end goal.
Su Ming knew that he had only taken his First Step on this path, and he did not know whether there would truly come a time when he would reach Lie Xie Shan"s state or perhaps even surpa.s.s him.
However, he had a determined and resolute will. He told himself that he would walk down to the very limit of what he could possibly do, because he wanted to know why he was born as a dead infant. He wanted to know whether he had parents, any other members of his race, and where his home lay.
He wanted to save the owner of that voice who had been mumbling beside his ears for years, to save the little girl who had the weak voice that had been calling him big brother.
To do all these, Su Ming was required to control his own fate and become a powerful warrior in the galaxy. Only then would he be able to search about and accomplish all these tasks.
If he could not become truly powerful… then he could only be like an ant and let others decide his fate.
"I won"t let it happen!"
Su Ming clenched his fists tightly and sucked in a deep breath. His eyes flashed brilliantly, and it took him some time to calm himself down. He looked at the golden sword with some hints of blue still flas.h.i.+ng before him and swiftly opened his mouth to let out a breath of Life Cultivation which charged towards the sword. At the instant it touched the blade, the sword immediately started trembling violently and weak piercing screeches came from within.
When that happened, Su Ming lifted his right hand and seized the killing sword"s hilt. He stood up and placed the sword flat against his chest before lifting two of his left hand"s fingers and placing them at the spot near the sword"s hilt. He then began to slowly move his fingers towards the tip of the sword.
His actions were not quick, but there was a great force of will within them. As he swept his fingers upwards, the sword began struggling violently, shuddering, but Su Ming let out a cold harrumph, and the blade where Su Ming"s fingers pa.s.sed through immediately stopped shuddering. When he finished his sweep across the whole blade, the screeching was instantly cut off.
"If you don"t hold a sword in your hand, then can that sword still be called a sword?!" Su Ming flicked the two fingers at the tip of the sword, and a clear sword whistle echoed in the air. That sound reverberated within Eastern Wastelands Tower and let out a wave of killing intent that surged into the sky.
Su Ming started slowly brandis.h.i.+ng that sword at the first layer of Eastern Wastelands Tower. As he waved the blade around, light shone on it. Waves of biting cold air spread out. Su Ming looked as if he was moving slowly, but if anyone saw him brandis.h.i.+ng the sword at this moment, they would surely be shocked.
That would happen because at this moment Su Ming"s concentration made it seem as if he had become one with the sword. But perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the sword had become one with Su Ming, and they had reached a state where the person fused with the blade.
After a moment, Su Ming flipped the killing sword over and swung it downwards to stab the ground. A vast presence and a powerful will surged into the sword at that instant, and it was as if the entire process of brandis.h.i.+ng the sword had been just for this thrust!
It caused a large amount of murderous aura to erupt from the sword. But just as it was about to reach the ground, a violent whistle came from within it, and it started trembling as if it wanted to struggle out of Su Ming"s hand, but it could not do so.
Su Ming"s hand came to an abrupt halt right at the instant the blade"s tip was about to touch the ground. The moment he stopped, an incredible backlash was formed due to him halting as he threw out a strike containing his full power. However, that backlash was not focused on Su Ming"s body but had instead surged into the sword.
Su Ming"s hair danced in the wind, while he remained expressionless and calm. There was only half an inch between the sword and the ground. His gaze was cold and aloof. At that moment, he was filled with a chilling air that was similar to the killing sword"s aura.
As the sword trembled, shrill sword whistles faintly came from within it. The blade s.h.i.+vered even more violently, as if it was about to shatter. Su Ming"s full power should have been released once it was gathered on the blade, charging into the ground, but that energy had not been released. It had instead exploded inside the sword, and it was incredibly harmful for the sword. It had a great impact on the sword spirit.
This was a Sword Refinement Art. It was a method Su Ming had obtained to refine a sword from the legacy he inherited from Hong Luo.
It was just like what he had done before, just one of the methods he used. During the past year, Su Ming had used several methods like this to continuously refine the sword as he suppressed it.
"Will you submit to me?" Su Ming asked unhurriedly.
After a short period of silence, a piercing voice filled with an unwillingness to admit defeat and surrender came from the sword. It was the sword spirit"s roar.
"During the past year, I"ve asked you the same question over and over again every month. My patience is limited," Su Ming stated flatly.
He lifted the killing sword and swung it lightly. Immediately, ripples spread through the air from the sword. Then, once Su Ming let go, he lifted his right hand and formed a seal and tapped the center of his brows. Immediately, a cloud of black smoke manifested between his brows and turned into a ferocious face of a malicious spirit. It looked as if it was roaring as it charged out of the center of Su Ming"s brows and surged into the killing sword.
"The Evil Spirits" skills I learned from the stone statue at the eighth layer indeed have their own unique qualities," Su Ming mumbled to himself, then lifted his left hand and formed a fist which he swiftly pushed towards the ground. With it, the golden light on the ground immediately scattered.
A wave of Earthen Aura surged into Eastern Wastelands Tower from Su Ming"s left hand and covered the entire ground. Due to it, Su Ming"s left arm immediately withered away. At the time the arm looked as if it had been reduced to skin and bones, white light surrounded it.
Su Ming looked at his left hand, which was now surrounded by white light and looked like a skeleton"s arm, and seized the killing sword. At the instant he touched the handle, the blade let out a shrill scream of pain. Su Ming"s left arm recovered swiftly, as if he had absorbed some strange power from the killing sword that made his arm return to normal.
However, the vigor contained within the sword had clearly become much weaker.
"The Surging Indulgers" divine ability to refine the body with a spirit." A smile appeared on Su Ming"s face. He swung his arm, and a large amount of golden aura swiftly surged towards him, surrounding the sword to continue suppressing it.
He cast a glance at the killing sword before averting his gaze and lifting his head to look at the ceiling. A brilliant light flashed in his eyes.
"The time has come for me to challenge the tower again. This time, I should be able to do it."
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath and took a few steps forward to stand at the center of the first layer. When he stood there, he closed his eyes and calmed his heart so that his mind would scatter and fuse slowly with his surroundings. The golden light in the area instantly surged towards him, surrounding him. As it rotated rapidly, piercing rays of golden light shone in the air, and in the blink of an eye, Su Ming disappeared.
This sort of light continued appearing in the second, third, and up to the eighth layer of Eastern Wastelands Tower. As golden light filled the eighth layer, Su Ming"s body slowly appeared at the center. After some time, when his body became completely visible, Su Ming opened his eyes.
The main reason behind his ability to control more of the golden light in the first layer during the past year had been because he had managed to conquer the first seven layers of the tower during and moved into the eighth one.
With each layer he cleared, his connection to Eastern Wastelands Tower would become stronger, which was why he could absorb more of the golden light. With his original power, he could have cleared even more layers, but when he stopped for a moment at the third layer at the start, he gave up on the idea of charging through the other layers.
At the moment, he was standing at the center of the eighth layer. He took a deep breath, and a resolute look appeared in his eyes.
He had already pa.s.sed through the seventh layer three months ago and moved into the eighth one, but only now did he have enough confidence to walk into the ninth layer.
"I didn"t expect that the eighth layer"s test would be able to stop me for three months." Su Ming shook his head. He had not thought about this at first. In fact, this had been completely inconceivable to him.
Su Ming lifted his foot and took a step forward. Once he walked out of the center, the world before him changed and yellow sand filled the air. The burning sun looked as if it wanted to burn the ground. Right before him were four gigantic stone humans.
These four stone humans stood erect on the ground. Each of them was nearly a thousand feet tall and appeared vaguely in the sand. There was a primitive air about them.
"Eastern Wastelands Tower… has clearly given two different methods to move through the tower since the second layer. The first is to charge through each layer and continue onward, while the second is to fuse with each one. Once you completely fuse with a layer, you will naturally be able to enter the next one.
"Breaking these four statues fulfills the requirements for the first method and allow me to go straight to the eighth layer… but if I wanted to do that, I would have done so three months ago."
A glint shone in Su Ming"s eyes. He went towards the first stone statue and looked at it quietly for some time before sitting down cross-legged in front of it. He formed a seal with his hands, and the presence of Life Cultivation spread out from within him. Waves of a Berserker"s presence also spread out from his flesh and blood, which had all turned into those of a true Berserker.
As the presence of the Berserker surrounded Su Ming, the first stone statue"s eyes flew open, their gaze landing on Su Ming"s body. After a moment, Su Ming stood up and walked towards the second stone statue. After looking at it for a moment, he stomped on the ground, and not a single hint of a Berserker"s presence could be detected on him. A wave of pure aura that belonged to an Immortal spread out from his body, causing the second stone statue to open its eyes.
The third statue had a fierce look on its face and looked like a demonic fiend. There was also a malicious spirit"s face sticking out of the center of that stone statue"s brows. When Su Ming stood under the third stone statue, he lifted his right hand and pointed between his brows. Immediately, black smoke surrounded the center of his brows, and the face of a malicious spirits took shape. The third stone statue immediately opened its eyes and looked towards Su Ming.
After a moment, Su Ming arrived next to the fourth stone statue and lifted his left hand. White light surrounded it, after it had turned into bone. There was a strange and mysterious presence spreading out from his arm.
"The four stone statues represent Berserkers, Immortals, Evil Spirits, and Surging Indulgers. I"ve already mastered the basic cultivation methods for each of these races. Open, eighth layer of Eastern Wastelands Tower!"
Su Ming swung his left hand, and the stone statues immediately turned indistinct. When everything became clear once again, he was already standing at the center of the ninth layer of Eastern Wastelands Tower.