"O endless galaxy, I want to praise the great Little Devious Su. His deviousness is a light that the galaxy cannot conceal. His deviousness is a dream that all manner of lives in the world cannot hope to obtain.
"O boundless universe, I want to praise the Little Devious Su who is even greater than me. His deviousness can conceal the universe and cause the galaxy to turn black. His deviousness can cover all manner of living, causing all the people"s hair to turn black [1].
"His deviousness also symbolizes my determination. Little Devious Su… continue showing off your devious nature and infect all manner of lives with your deviousness. I will be by your side and walk down this black path…"
The bald crane looked at Su Ming"s back with a pious expression as it followed behind him. During that moment, it looked up to Su Ming with unparalleled admiration. In fact, in its eyes, Su Ming was a light that would point it towards the peak of the path to get even more crystals.
The bald crane was almost in tears. Those tears were due to it being touched, to have found someone walking down the same path, and the excitement of having its ideals resonate with someone else now that it had found someone who was even more devious than itself.
The bald crane"s excited thoughts and musings echoed in Su Ming"s mind. No one else could hear them, but Su Ming still felt odd. He let out a fake cough, and under Yu Chen Hai"s invitation, stepped into the Relocation Rune with him.
Yu Luo and the old man were naturally taken away by the other two people. As the Relocation Rune shone with a brilliant light, booming sounds echoed in s.p.a.ce, and the people disappeared.
Su Ming might seemed to have left with them in a relaxed manner, but he had not relaxed his guard even a single bit. At the instant the Rune was activated, he had made preparations to attack immediately if anything went wrong.
After all, to other people, the manifestation of Su Ming"s level of cultivation was rather indistinct. He seemed like he was in the initial stage, but also like he was in the middle stage of World Plane Realm, and they were unable to tell which was the truth. Unless someone had witnessed Su Ming engaged with another person in a battle of Arts with their own eyes or saw him bring out all his power in the form of pressure, they could only guess his level of cultivation based on what they could sense.
Even the old man who had been sealed and extorted could not tell what Su Ming"s actual level of cultivation was. He could only guess that Su Ming might be in the later stage of World Plane Realm, but he could not be certain about it.
It was much less so for Yu Chen Hai, which was why it had become Su Ming"s hidden tactic. Once he fused with Divine Essence, he could execute the terrifying power of those in the later stage of World Plane Realm.
This was also one of the powers he possessed that made him dare come to Black Ink Planet.
The light from the Relocation Rune blocked his field of vision, and as the light gradually faded away, Su Ming sensed the power from the Relocation Rune reverberating in s.p.a.ce. The booming sounds in his ears gradually became weaker, and at that moment, Su Ming immediately spread his Atman.
The world around him instantly appeared in his mind.
They were in a towering hall that had nine pillars of crouching dragons around them. On each pillar was a person sitting cross-legged. There was no aura spreading out from these nine people, which made it seem as if they were dead.
Su Ming did not sense any danger, but he did not pull back his Atman. When the light from the Relocation Rune completely disappeared from his eyes and their figures showed up in the hall, Su Ming lowered his head to look at the ground beneath his feet.
There was a complicated Relocation Rune on the entire floor, and he could vaguely see the word Jade [2] written indistinctly at one point. Su Ming could not see anything else wrong in the other areas of the Rune, but he did not know much about Runes. If Hu Zi was in this place, he would definitely be able to tell with just one look where the core of the Rune lay.
"Welcome to the Yu Family." Yu Chen Hai remained friendly. When he spoke with a smile at Su Ming, he extended his right hand to show him the way forward.
"Brother Su, I will take you to where you can rest first. I still have some things to discuss with you later. This way, please!" As he spoke, Yu Chen Hai became the first to walk out of the Rune. Su Ming nodded in agreement. As he walked out, he swept his gaze across the nine people who were sitting cross-legged around the Rune.
"These people are the guards of the Rune. They practice a unique cultivation method and do not have any signs of life about them. The only thing remaining in them is the aura of death, but each of them can bring out the power equivalent to those in the middle stage of World Plane Realm." Yu Chen Hai smiled faintly and offered an explanation. It was not without the intention to show off.
"This place is where your family is located, so it"s only natural that you do so." Su Ming"s expression remained as calm as ever. Yu Chen Hai did not notice that a barely noticeable glint had appeared in Su Ming"s eyes when he looked towards the nine people just now.
Perhaps other people could not find any clues about them, but Su Ming… had sensed a hint of the Shamans" presence from these nine people!
These nine people did not practice any unique cultivation methods. They were Shaman Puppets that only Soul Catchers could create!
"Just what level of cultivation had these Shamans reached to be able to create Shaman Puppets at the middle stage of World Plane Realm…" When Su Ming averted his gaze, he suddenly found that he no longer felt that Black Ink Planet was an unfamiliar place. Instead, he found a sense of familiarity to it.
This did not mean that he had come to this place before, but because he had sensed the Shamans" presence.
"I didn"t expect that there would be Shamans in this place. Why would they be here? This race was born after branching out and evolving from the Berserkers… That"s right, the Berserkers were once one of the alien races in the fifth True World.
"There are plenty of other alien races within the vast Divine Essence Star Ocean beyond Black Ink Planet… Perhaps there are also Shamans there!
"By the looks of it, the first G.o.d of Berserkers, Lie Shan Xiu, should have been the first person to venture out and search for the entrance to the fifth True World. Then… could he also be in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence? If he is, then… is he alive or dead? Is he on Black Ink Planet, or could he be in Divine Essence Star Ocean?" Su Ming had made many connections between various thoughts from the Shaman Puppets.
All these things caused him to develop great interest towards Black Ink Planet. It also seemed to have formed a connection with the land of Berserkers in his memories.
He stopped pondering over the matter. At the moment he walked out of the hall, he saw blue sky and white clouds. This was the first time he had seen such a blue piece of sky in the Barren Lands of Divine Essence.
Most of the sky in the other cultivation planets was dark and dim. Even those planets that did not have a dark sky would have muddled and clouded colors above. Only the sky in this place was as blue as a piece of silk, so people could not help it but look up.
A gentle breeze lifted Su Ming"s hair. The wind was refres.h.i.+ng, and there was even a spiritual aura contained within it. With one breath, it felt as if all pores in his body had been opened up. It had been a long time since Su Ming had felt this sort of wind against his skin.
This was a completely different place compared to all the other planets in the four Great True Worlds. This was… like paradise.
There was a smile on Yu Chen Hai"s face at that moment. He might seem calm, but in truth, when Su Ming walked out of the Rune, he had been observing him. He might not have been able to see the glint in Su Ming"s eyes when the other looked towards the nine puppets, but he had seen him looking at the sky and taking that one breath instinctively.
These were just minor details, but Yu Chen Hai had always believed that minor details could determine everything. From these details, he was certain by seven-tenths that this was the first time Su Ming came to Black Ink Planet.
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath and said slowly, "This place is completely different from all the other planets I"ve gone to."
More accurately speaking, Su Ming had never been to a normal planet. He had previously been in Yin Death Region and was later sent to the Barren Lands of Divine Essence. All the planets he went to were barren wastelands. It could be said that Black Ink Planet… was the first planet Su Ming had ever stepped into.
"Brother Su, since you"ve decided to stay in Black Ink Planet, then you will be a cultivator in Black Ink Planet from now on. You can have everything here permanently." Yu Chen Hai smiled and became even more certain in his heart that this was the first time Su Ming had come to this place.
"Brother Su, let us head to your lodgings first. I still have some things I would like to discuss with you."
Su Ming nodded and averted his gaze from the sky to follow Yu Chen Hai into the distance. Wherever he went, there would be tall towers all around. As Su Ming sent his Atman outwards, he found that were quite a number of places that repelled his presence. His true level of cultivation was not as high as his physical body"s, that was why his Atman was much weaker than of those that belonged to the later stage of World Plane Realm. Once he scanned the area, he pulled back his Atman and no longer looked around.
This simple scan had allowed Su Ming to see that this was a gigantic manor, and it was built on a flat piece of land. There were faint figures of lush, green mountains in the distance.
Soon, Yu Chen Hai stopped next to a small courtyard, outside a double-story tower.
"Brother Su, please treat this place as your temporarily lodgings for now. I will go report to the older generation of the family that you are my temporary guest. If everything goes smoothly, then I will be able to help you obtain the plate immediately, but if things don"t go smooth… then you will need to be tested. I will have to trouble you for this. I hope you will not mind." Yu Chen Hai wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed towards Su Ming. His expression remained sincere.
"This won"t take long. A decision will be made by sunset. During the process, try not to venture out. I hope you won"t mind this offence.
"As for the one… one billion crystals, I will ask someone to handle this. Soon, someone should be here to give you the crystals." Yu Chen Hai was worried that Su Ming would be displeased and provided detailed explanations.
"I will remain in the room." Su Ming cast Yu Chen Hai a glance. He did not harbor any dislike towards this person, and since he had been polite all this while, Su Ming nodded.
When he saw Su Ming agreeing to stay in his room, Yu Chen Hai smiled and bowed to him before turning around to leave.
Su Ming stepped into the courtyard but did not enter the tower. Instead, he sat down cross-legged on the gra.s.s. It was quiet all around him. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow past him. He looked at the sky as if he was meditating, but also seemed to be deep in thought. Gradually, he forgot about the flow of time.
The Duke of Crimson Flame manifested beside him and bent his body slightly, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.
The bald crane was lying by Su Ming"s feet. Its eyes were moving about, though no one knew what it was thinking about. However, from the occasional drop of saliva that would fall from its beak, all those who saw it would definitely be able to tell that it was definitely thinking about something related to crystals.
Xiao Huang was still sleeping in Su Ming"s storage bag, but all of its injuries had already healed, and it should wake up soon.
Two hours later, the Duke of Crimson Flame"s eyes sparkled, and its body gradually turned indistinct. However, its gaze was fixed on the door to the courtyard. After a moment, the sound of knocking on the door could be heard. Su Ming lifted his right hand and swung it, opening the door to the courtyard. A young man walked in. He was one of the two people who had followed Yu Chen Hai previously. There was an incredibly respectful look on his face. Once he placed a wooden box and a storage bag before Su Ming respectfully, he bowed and left.
The eyes of the bald crane immediately went wide, and it charged towards the storage bag in excitement, but before it even got close to it, the storage bag flew up on its own and landed on Su Ming"s palm.
When the bald crane saw that the storage bag was taken by Su Ming, it changed directions and pounced on the wooden box to quickly open it. At the instant it did so, a b.l.o.o.d.y stench spread out, for there was a human head contained within it.
It was the head that belonged to the old man who had promised Su Ming the crystals.
Su Ming cast a glance at the head, then scanned the storage bag with his Atman.
"Seventeen million crystals. Is this all his money?" Su Ming put away the storage bag and ignored the bald crane who was giving him a bitter look. He closed his eyes and meditated.
"d.a.m.n it, so many crystals… What should I do? What should I do..?" When the bald crane saw that Su Ming was not paying any attention to it, it immediately clenched its teeth in anger.
Darkness gradually covered the sky. The bright, blue sky that stretched to the ends of the horizon just one moment ago was soon hidden by dark clouds. When the sun was about to set, there were numerous dark clouds above.
When the m.u.f.fled sound of thunder rang through the air, it looked as if rain was about to pour.
Su Ming opened his eyes. When he looked at the sky, the door to the courtyard was pushed open, and Yu Chen Hai walked in with an incredibly sullen expression.
"Brother Su, these are the crystals I promised you. They"ve gone overboard! I"m not hosting the auction anymore!" Yu Chen Hai brought out a storage bag. He was feeling incredibly resentful at the moment, and if he had not been suppressing his emotions continuously just now, he would have burst out a long time ago.
"Calm down." When Su Ming said these words calmly, he averted his gaze from the sky, and his eyes met Yu Chen Hai"s.
Translator"s Notes:
1. In the original version, Su Ming is actually supposed to be Little Black Su, which means that he has a black heart, but it doesn"t mean that he is evil or emotionally cold, per say, just means that he is devious, which is why you have that turn everyone"s hair black thing. It basically means that he is so devious that he"s turning everything black.
2. Jade in the Rune: Jade is written as 玉, and it is the meaning of the Yu family name.