"What happened?" Su Ming asked calmly.
Dijiu Mo Sha remained silent for several breaths, then when he looked at Su Ming, his expression was filled with a hint of grat.i.tude.
"The tribe is in danger. It should have been an invasion by the Hearers. After the patriarch s.h.i.+fted the tribe to this place from the inner parts of Divine Essence Star Ocean, we had to keep migrating over the past thousand years. We kept hiding from everyone. The four races might not chase after us anymore, but the minor races affiliated to them kept whittling down the number of people in our tribe ceaselessly," Dijiu Mo Sha said through gritted teeth.
"From a tribe of nearly one hundred thousand people, we were reduced to less than one thousand people…"
"Take me to your tribe," Su Ming said calmly.
Dijiu Mo Sha nodded. He moved, and blood fog erupted from his body, causing his speed to instantly increase by several fold. Su Ming took one step forward by his side, and with it, he had already traveled the distance.
They rushed on their way, and after about two hours, Dijiu Mo Sha came to an abrupt halt. He carefully observed his surroundings, then brought out a stone from his bosom. He crushed it and spread it outwards.
Immediately, in a spot not too far from where they were a vortex the size of a palm took shape. It sucked in the powder from the crushed stone.
"The vortices in Divine Essence Star Ocean might have their own mysterious aspects, but after years of investigation, the people here found that while some of the vortices are endless chasms that lead to unknown destinations, there are some vortices that are connected to others of their king in Divine Essence Star Ocean.
"Once we find these safe vortices, they can be turned into a kind of natural Relocation spot. We can use them to make initially long distances no longer so far away.
"The records of these vortices in each tribe are the most important treasures, and we cannot let any outsiders learn of them. In fact, there are only a few members of a tribe who can have this knowledge.
"The patriarch used some sort of unknown method to discover the Ninth Tribe"s Relocation Vortices, and he discovered quite a number of them. The planet where our tribe was built was also s.h.i.+fted from the inner parts of Divine Essence Star Ocean to the periphery in this manner.
"In fact, if it was not because of the existence of these vortex tunnels, it would have been impossible for my tribesmen to continue surviving after being chased ceaselessly for the past thousand years. There are plenty of vortex tunnels the patriarch has uncovered which other tribes do not know of up to this date."
Clearly, Dijiu Mo Sha no longer treated Su Ming as an outsider. As he observed the powder from the stone around him, he provided him with detailed explanations.
"When we return to the tribe, I will tell you all the vortex tunnels that have been recorded. It"ll be much more convenient for you to travel around in Divine Essence Star Ocean like this." Dijiu Mo Sha"s eyes focused on the spot where the stone powder disappeared, then he raised his right hand to seize the air in that direction.
"Just touching the vortex with your body will be sufficient. When you"re being Relocated, do not open your eyes. We will be able to walk out of the other tunnel in about a dozen something breaths."
Dijiu Mo Sha"s voice still echoed in s.p.a.ce when his body was sucked into the fist-sized vortex. He was pulled inside straight away, as if the edges of that vortex were soft and bouncy, which allowed it to devour all matter.
A glint appeared in Su Ming"s eyes. After a moment of pensive silence, he took a step forward and touched the vortex. At the instant he did so, he felt that he was enveloped in something soft. Right when this feeling appeared, he noticed a powerful suction force that pulled him into the vortex with a bang.
Su Ming did not close his eyes. Instead, he kept them constantly open.
He could sense that his body was being moved by some sort of force leading him forward. Before him, he saw Dijiu Mo Sha, who had his eyes closed.
Aside from him, Su Ming saw… a colorful world. There were countless living beings that were like jellyfishes s.h.i.+ning in this world while they floated around the area. When he looked down, he found no bottom. There was only darkness.
When Su Ming saw this, his gaze focused, and he saw six brownish yellow flames suddenly lighting up in a small region of the darkness beneath him.
At the same time, a furious roar came from the darkness. Right when that roar sounded, the colorful jellyfish-like creatures around him dispersed.
Immediately after, Su Ming saw the six flames burn up brighter in the endless darkness beneath him. They swiftly grew bigger, as if they were three living spirits swifty rus.h.i.+ng out.
"Close your eyes!" an anxious voice immediately said from a spot not too far away from Su Ming. That voice was belonged to Dijiu Mo Sha, whose body was moving forward due to the force leading him. Once he heard the furious roar, he kept his eyes closed, but anxiety appeared on his face.
Su Ming did not close his eyes. He instead continued looking at the endless darkness beneath him.
The six burning flames came increasingly closer. About six to seven breaths later, the furious roars turned into a powerful impact… and a horse that was entirely black and was stepping on flames appeared before Su Ming"s eyes.
The two-headed horse was black and had flames surrounding it. There was murder in its eyes, and the two dragon heads kept tossing about. Enraged roars reverberated in the air and charged towards Su Ming.
A powerful mighty pressure erupted from this foreign creature"s body, and it was so strong that Su Ming once again understood that becoming a Master of Fate, Lives, and Death was absolutely not the limit and did not const.i.tute to someone being the strongest!
"Don"t look at anything… Ha…" Dijiu Mo Sha"s voice turned into a sigh in the end. His figure disappeared from the colorful world, and no trace of him could be found anymore. It was a telling sign that he had been sent out on the other side.
The black horse with two dragon heads drew closer. Its roars shook the air in all directions.
Su Ming could feel that the power drawing him forward was on the verge of collapse due to the tremors. He narrowed his eyes, but he still did not close his eyes.
Su Ming had grown incredibly fond of this horse the moment he saw it. The creature"s fierce presence matched well with his own murderous aura. When he saw it stepping on flames while on its way, this appearance coincided with a thought that had blossomed in the depths of his head when he had heard Dijiu Mo Sha"s words.
He was also extremely satisfied with its speed. It had only used the span of a few short breaths to reach this place from the seemingly endless darkness. There were no flaws in its cultivation base, either.
Su Ming"s eyes were trained on the horse, without any attempt of hiding it, and since his thoughts were revealed in his gaze, the black horse with the two dragon heads felt provoked, which was a rare emotion. It also noticed Su Ming"s intent to enslave it.
This caused the beast"s roars to become stronger and its speed to become faster!
However, this was just a short Relocation to Su Ming. The period of a dozen something breaths had ended, and his body swiftly disappeared.
"You are mine." At the instant Su Ming disappeared, he said those words. He knew that the black horse would be able to hear his voice and would also be able to understand him.
He did not know whether anyone had said the same words to the black horse before him. If there was, then the effect of Su Ming"s words would not be great, but if there was not...
… Then Su Ming"s words would turn into a seed that would be planted in the black horse"s heart. As long as it remembered that someone had said such words to it, the seed would exist in its heart.
This was Su Ming"s Art.
It evolved from the Art that would exist if he believed in it, and it was also a divine ability that surpa.s.sed the Great Art of Berserker Seed in terms of standard.
"Roar!"
As the black horse"s roars reverberated in the air, Su Ming disappeared from the colorful world. When he appeared, he was standing in the galaxy that belonged to Divine Essence Star Ocean. Before him was Dijiu Mo Sha, who had a wry smile on his face.
"Fourth senior brother, I am to be blamed for not telling you clearly earlier. You are… not supposed to see anything in the world within the vortex. Once you see it and its image is imprinted in your memories, you will be remembered by the strange power in the world within the vortex.
"Once you use them again, the living creatures you saw will not let you leave. Even if you manage to leave by a stroke of luck, if you keep using the vortexes to Relocate, your journeys will become increasingly more dangerous." Dijiu Mo Sha sighed and rushed forward. He was feeling anxious about his tribe"s safety, and was also feeling a little sulky about Su Ming"s previous actions.
Su Ming took a step forward before he suddenly asked, "Do you know why you are only Master"s disciple in name and not his proper disciple?"
Dijiu Mo Sha was momentarily stunned.
"It"s because I only have normal potential and am very ordinary…" Dijiu Mo Sha said in a low whisper.
"You"re wrong." Su Ming shook his head. "Who told you that you are not allowed to open your eyes in the world within the vortex?"
"There"s no need for anyone to tell me about this. It"s common sense. It"s a general piece of knowledge almost everyone living here knows. Those who open their eyes out of curiosity, before long, they are unable to walk out of some vortex. Too many of such incidents have happened over the years. I"ve seen more than you did…" Dijiu Mo Sha felt slightly indignant.
"Then has anyone managed to tame the creatures in the vortex and bring them out?" Su Ming asked.
"Never!" Dijiu Mo Sha said without any hesitation.
"You"re wrong." Su Ming looked at Dijiu Mo Sha. He stared at this fifth junior brother of his, who he had not admitted verbally, but had already accepted slightly in his heart. "Common sense is just a circle. If you believe in it, then it will exist in your life and limit your steps. It will limit everything about you. While it might be able to protect you… it will also limit your growth.
"It"s not because of your potential that Master took you in only as a disciple in name. It"s because you lack the courage to challenge common sense, or rather, you don"t have the will to shatter common sense in you.
"Have you ever thought why Master would know more of these vortex tunnels than other tribes when he was in this place? Have you ever thought about why the four races are still unable find Master even when they have been pursuing him all this while?
"In fact, I am certain that the black giant Master is sitting upon is a fierce creature that you"ve never seen before. It"s not a creature from Divine Essence Star Ocean, but you"ve never wondered where it came from," Su Ming said slowly, but when his words fell into Dijiu Mo Sha"s ears, they turned into thunderous roars.
He knew full well that the patriarch"s fierce black giant was indeed a living creature that he had never seen before...
"That fierce creature should have come from the world in the vortex. Master was able to discover more vortex tunnels than other tribes because he opened his eyes in the world within the vortex… and he even enslaved a creature from there," Su Ming said faintly.
Dijiu Mo Sha"s feet came to an abrupt halt. He looked at Su Ming with a dazed look. His voice echoed in his heart, and every single word caused his heart to tremble. Only at this moment did he suddenly understand why, among his four disciples, his patriarch had spoken the most… about this fourth senior brother standing in front of him instead of his eldest senior brother, his second senior brother, or his third senior brother!