The carving in the final picture was incredibly complicated, and there was even a hint of roughness to it. It was as if the person who carved it was in some sort of unstable state of mind, but he still continued carving, as if he wanted to record something down.
There was an old man on the platform high above in the carving. He had his arms lifted and was floating in the hall above him. Beneath him were countless people kneeling and worshiping him. Excitement and hope appeared on their faces.
However, if anyone looked at that excitement from another perspective, they would find that it was not excitement, but fear. Similarly, if someone looked at it from another perspective, they would find that it was no longer hope, but despair and grief.
The picture ended.
The crude carving was completely different from the previous ones. It was as if the story had not ended.
Su Ming fell silent. When he turned around, he looked around him once again, but he could not find the old figure behind him watching him quietly.
Su Ming swept his gaze across the area and frowned. He could not sense any signs of life in this place, but the voice from before had clearly appeared. In his silence, Su Ming's pupils suddenly shrank. He saw that there seemed to be a different region beside the pit of corpses.
With one move, he charged towards the pit of corpses. In the blink of an eye, he closed in, and he stared at the spot beside the pit of corpses. There was a faint depression on the ground near the wall.
That depression made it seem as if someone had meditated there for an unknown number of years, and the stone had slowly sunk down to form the Brand of someone meditating there.
When Su Ming saw that Brand, his pupils shrank. Once he closed in, he crouched down, lifted his right hand, and swiped it across the depression. With it, all the hair on his body instantly stood up, because there was a faint warmth spreading out from that spot. This meant that there had been someone meditating there not too long ago.
"That is where I meditate." At that moment, an old voice came from behind Su Ming. That voice had appeared incredibly suddenly, and Su Ming had not noticed it at all. It was as if someone was whispering into his ears, causing his cultivation base to erupt from his body without any hesitation. When he rushed forward, he turned around swiftly, but when he did so, he saw nothing.
Su Ming's heart raced, and his skin crawled. Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder lightly.
"What are you looking for?"
Su Ming's expression changed. This time, he did not immediately turn around. Instead, without a hint of hesitation, he lifted his right hand, and ripples spread out from the ring. At the instant they spread outwards, he charged into the distance. When he rushed out, he turned around with great force and looked behind him, but even so, he still did not see anything.
Su Ming's heart raced against his chest. He might not be able to see the person, but he was certain that the person was right behind him. In silence, Su Ming calmed himself down and sat down cross-legged.
If this person wanted to attack him, he would have done so a long time ago. Since he had not done so, Su Ming could only smile wryly and sit down cross-legged.
"Thank you for saving me, Senior."
It was quiet all around them. Su Ming seemed to be talking to himself. There was no reply.
Time trickled by, and in the blink of an eye, an hour went by. A thought appeared in Su Ming's mind, and he slowly stood up and walked towards the exit of the cave abode. Yet the instant he reached the exit, the air around him suddenly distorted. In an instant, Su Ming laughed wryly when he discovered that for some unknown reason, he had been relocated to the spot where he had been meditating previously.
Su Ming sucked in a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Senior, you're not speaking, and neither are you asking me to leave. If you have any orders for me, then please tell me. If I can do it, I will definitely do my best to repay you for saving me."
A long while after Su Ming's words left his mouth, a flat voice came from behind him. "Which tribe are you from?"
"Dark Mountain Tribe. I am a member of Dark Mountain Tribe." A thought appeared in Su Ming's heart. Without any hesitation, he immediately answered. He was already prepared for the person to definitely not have heard of the tribe before and would speak once he asked about it. Yet just as Su Ming was waiting for the person to question him, he heard the ancient voice behind him say something that caused his heart to tremble.
"Dark Mountain Tribe is one of the thirteen tribes that were split from Great Berserker Tribe …" When those words fell into Su Ming's ears, his heart trembled. At the same time, the old man's right hand appeared on his shoulder. The dried up right hand only patted his shoulder once, and a domineering presence immediately seeped into Su Ming's body. It swam through his body once before rushing towards his soul.
It did not perform any Soulsearch. It only touched Su Ming's soul briefly, and the presence fell back to his shoulder, returning to the withered right hand that had landed on Su Ming's shoulder.
"You do indeed have the presence of a Berserker's Initiation, but your soul belongs to Great Abyss Tribe. There is also a hint of nourishment in your soul that does not belong to this World. Hmph, I was the one who was the most opposed to intermarriage in the past, but you can be considered a Berserker, so you did not lie." When the old voice echoed in the air, a huge storm raged in Su Ming's mind.
'Dark Mountain Tribe … There really is a Dark Mountain Tribe? Berserkers … Great Berserker Tribe … and my soul? He actually said that it's Great Abyss Tribe? This is …' Su Ming could not calm his heart. His mind was completely thrown into turmoil by the old man's words.
"I will make a deal with you, young Berserker. Since you were able to come here, you can be considered to be fated with me. Your soul and presence might be a little mixed, but regardless of whether it's Great Berserker Tribe or Great Abyss Tribe, you can still be considered a member of the younger generation of my friendly tribe. This deal will be a great serendipity for you," the ancient voice said faintly, and there was a decaying air that came with age.
Su Ming did not immediately ask about the serendipity. Instead, he hesitated for a moment, then forced down the great shock stirred up in his heart by the old man's words and said in a low voice, "Senior, if you had determined that I was not a member of the younger generation of your friendly tribe …"
"You would have been the same as all the others who came here over the countless years. I Soulsearched you, skinned you, and picked off your bones. Once you were air-dried, some seasoning was added, and you were fed to the sacrificial beasts," the old man said faintly.
A barely noticeable glint shone in Su Ming's eyes, and he asked another question.
"What about the other members of the younger generation of our friendly tribe who obtained your great serendipity?"
"They were among the defective goods you saw in the red fog in the world outside." The old man's voice was as indifferent as ever, but when it landed in Su Ming's ears, it turned into a freezing chill.
Su Ming was silent. The old man did not speak either. When the time it takes for an incense stick to burn passed, Su Ming smiled wryly and sighed.
"Senior, your great serendipity is a chance for me to ascend to become an Antecedental Spirit, right?"
"Hmm? Boy, you're quite a smart one. You must have deduced this from the words I said when I chased away those defective goods, right? That's right, the great serendipity I'm giving you is a chance for your spirit to ascend. Since you like to analyze things, then you can analyze what sort of deal I need you to complete with this serendipity. If you can guess it, I will give you some rewards. " The old man paused for a moment, as if some emotions that did not exist previously had appeared in his voice, but he still spoke faintly.
"You only have one chance to guess." When the old man's voice echoed in the air, Su Ming's eyes sparkled.
"Senior, you shouldn't be thinking of leaving this place …" When Su Ming said those words languidly, the old man behind him let out a cold harrumph.
"Don't try to play these useless tricks."
"Senior, you want me to help you find out who it was that killed your clansmen?" Su Ming suddenly said. His voice was firm and resolute. This was Su Ming's gamble, but even if he lost, he would not suffer any losses. However, Su Ming wanted to win, because he had been in a passive position when he came into contact with the old man. The old man had always been behind him, and a shadow had already been planted in his heart. In fact, that shadow would only grow bigger until Su Ming no longer had any desire to fight back. His mind would be completely controlled by the old man.
He wanted to seize the initiative, but even if it was an insignificant initiative, it was still a form of resistance and a struggle for Su Ming.
And this answer was not something Su Ming came up with out of nowhere. He had come to this conclusion based on a few clues. One of them was that this place had already been reduced to ruins and turned into the burial ground of Heavenly Spirit Tribe, but the old man was still there. He was quietly accompanying his people, and from this, Su Ming could tell a few things.
Furthermore, the last carving was clearly crude. The things depicted in the carving were filled with strangeness, as if there was no end to it. There were a lot of things that could have happened. The Heavenly Spirit Tribe had either died because their lifespans had come to an end, but the fact that there were children among the skeletons erased that possibility.
There was also the possibility that they had been killed by the red figures, but with the old man's strength, while this was a possibility, it was also impossible. There was also another possibility, which was that it had been caused by other external factors. However, Su Ming only had one chance to make a guess, which was why he gave this answer without any hesitation.
Even though he had said it, Su Ming was not confident. However, when the person behind him remained silent after he finished speaking, Su Ming knew that there was a possibility that his guess was correct.
"Perhaps I should have agreed to the marriage between the races in the past …" After a long while, a long sigh came from behind Su Ming.
"You're very smart, and you're good at observing details … Your guess is correct, but also wrong. I was the one who killed my people …
"Tell me the reward you want!" There was a hint of grief in the old man's voice as it echoed in the air.
Su Ming remained silent for a moment, then a glint appeared in his eyes as he said resolutely, "I do not want any reward. I only wish to see your true face, senior."
"You're indeed very smart … Being able to see and not being able to see a person's face is completely different." After some time, when the old voice echoed in the air, the air in front of Su Ming distorted, and an old man slowly walked out.
The old man might have been dirty, but Su Ming could still recognize him at first glance. He was the old man in the final picture, the one who was worshiped by countless people while sitting on the tall platform with his arms outstretched towards the palace in the sky!
There was a profound look in the old man's eyes, but there was apathy and confusion in them. However, most of the time, it was so profound that no one would be able to look him in the eye. It was as if a person's soul would be sucked into his gaze.
He stood there, and not a single ripple of power could be sensed from his body. However, Su Ming could sense a mighty pressure that was much stronger than when he saw the Predecessor of Dao Ocean in the past. It was as if there was a difference of an entire Realm between this person and the Predecessor of Dao Ocean!
Three updates for two days in a row. Would there still be any monthly votes left?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
