Then, he would continue growing. Perhaps he would also experience destruction, and go through many other things. Perhaps he would also discover a pair of eyes watching him in the dark.
Perhaps he would be able to arrive to the point where he was now again, but perhaps… he would have to walk on the path others dictated for him and become Destiny again.
However… Hong Luo's appearance was like a perfectly laid out plan. A sudden accident happened, and it caught everyone by surprise. No one had been able to predict it beforehand. That was why Di Tian's first clone had spared no pains in appearing, and all of it was for the sake of returning things to their original course.
He succeeded, because Hong Luo died, but he also failed, because… Su Ming rose from his slumber!
The awakened Su Ming completely broke off from Di Tian's control. From then on, all the things he experienced were due to his own luck, and not because of anyone else's plans.
It was especially so for the Undying and Imperishable World. The actions which Di Tian's servant had thought were clever, in fact… made the will of this person, who fought and struggled and crawled his way out of those cycles of reincarnations, to be incredibly rare!
When Su Ming regained his consciousness, the shock in Di Tian's heart caused him to look at Su Ming with an incredibly grave expression on his face. This young man had given him far too many surprises during their meeting this time.
First, he had been able to injure him, and then had managed to regain his consciousness after he had sunk into oblivion. All of these things caused that grave expression on Di Tian's face, and at the same time, one thought in his mind grew stronger.
'No matter what, I will have to make him change today, or else, if he has more time, then unless my real self comes… Only a few years have went by, and he's already changed so much.
'Destiny… as expected of Destiny, a member of the Abyss Builders!' A freezing glare shone in Di Tian's eyes, and he lifted his right hand swiftly to point at Su Ming, who had begun swiftly retreating once he regained his senses.
"The wanderer who has returned to his path, the fog shall be your eye, and the heavens shall be your guide. This shall be… Heaven Maze!"
Di Tian's voice was filled with a strange rhythm. Right when he swept his finger through the air, a ball of green manifested around him.
Green threads swiftly shot out and covered the entire area in the blink of an eye. It looked like a giant ball of threads, and they enveloped the entire area, filling up the world.
It seemed as if they were traveling incredibly slowly, but were in truth spreading outwards at an extremely fast pace towards Su Ming, looking as if they wanted to wrap him up in multiple layers.
Su Ming could no longer see Di Tian before him. The entire area around him was filled with the incoming green threads, and he could not run from them, could not hide from them!
Su Ming's face was pale, and his right hand was still throbbing with intense pain. His breathing was ragged, but there was not a hint of despair in his eyes.
The sparkling light within them was like starlight, and they were burning brilliantly, showing off his fighting spirit. It was a demeanor that cried out that he even if he died, he would die standing, would laugh and have absolutely no regrets!
"I can die, but even if I die, I will make you pay! If I die, I will make you Immortals bleed seas of blood that will reach the sky! If I die, I will make this heaven be deprived of all thoughts forever!"
Su Ming laughed loudly. The green threads quickly spread out, and right at the instant they were less than a hundred feet away from him, he lifted his right hand, opened his mouth and spat something out. A fan immediately appeared in his hand.
It looked as if it was formed from an endless amount of feathers, and light was spilling out from it. With a swing, the fan immediately grew larger, and holding it, Su Ming swung his hand in the direction in front of him!
That fan was indeed the one he had snatched from Si Ma Xin, and it was a treasure that was created personally by the second God of Berserkers. It was… also an item that belonged to Su Ming!
"The three Barren Arts of Heaven, Earth, and Man, Heaven Barrenness!"
With that one swing of the fan, a deafening roar came from the sky covered by the rolling clouds. The sky shattered, inch by inch, and it turned pitch black. That swing of the fan looked as if it had caused the sky to tumble backwards, layer by layer. The shattered spots looked as if they had been swept up, causing the entire sky to look as if it had been completely lifted. The broken pieces fused with the power of the sky, and as they were swept up by the fan, they all charged towards the green threads.
Loud rumbling echoed in the air. The power of Heaven Barrenness had lifted the sky as if it was just a curtain, dragging up the green threads as it did. In the midst of the rumbling, the green threads that had spread out all around Su Ming trembled simultaneously.
"The three great Barren Arts of Heaven, Earth, and Man, Earth Barrenness!"
Su Ming swung the fan in his hand once again, and vibrations shook through the fan. As it trembled, the island under his body let out a loud bang, then… as the seawater roared and churned, it was swept up from the sea as Su Ming swung that fan upwards!
The island had shrank, but it was still an island and a small mass of land. Rumbling sounds surged into the sky, and with a buzzing sound, the island flew up right from the surface of the sea, bringing with it an endless amount of seawater that poured down just like a curtain of rain!
Moments after, the ground on the island shattered, turning into an uncountable amount of crushed stone pieces that crashed into the green threads once again. The strongest bang came from under the sky and above the earth.
It brought forth a presence that could destroy everything, and with Su Ming at its center, it swept through all directions!
Su Ming's face turned a lot of paler, but he did not stop moving his hands. Instead… he swung the fan again, and this time, he brought out the final style in the divine ability contained within this weapon, the style that even Si Ma Xin had not been able to cast.
"The three great Barren Arts of Heaven, Earth, and Man, Man Barrenness!"
At the moment this Art was cast, the shattered world roared. The endless amount of crushed stone shot through the green threads and charged towards Su Ming. In the blink of an eye, it covered his entire body and gathered into a gigantic head with Su Ming at its center!
The face it showed was the exact same as his. The shattered sky also fused into the gigantic earthen head's eyes, causing them to shine with a brilliant light.
At the instant the head was formed, Su Ming opened his mouth and breathed out a puff of air towards the sullen Di Tian standing not too far away from him. That puff of air turned into black wind that swept towards the clone, and it could break the sky, destroy the earth, and extinguish the flames of life.
"The second God of Berserkers' divine ability…"
Di Tian looked darkly at Su Ming. As he watched the black gust of wind Su Ming had breathed out turning into a layer of black fog as it closed in on him, Di Tian let out a cold harrumph.
"A pity. If the second had been the one to cast this, then this body of mine that is merely a clone would have been unable to fight against it… but if you are the one to cast it, then it will simply be too weak!" As Di Tian spoke, he lifted his left hand and cut down towards the black fog coming towards him.
With that single slash, the black fog started trembling swiftly. Its middle portion instantly caved in, opening up a crack due to the invisible slash. At the same time this happened, Di Tian took a step towards that fog, and he was so fast that he moved through in an instant, appearing right before the gigantic earthen head that Su Ming had brought out. He lifted his right hand and pushed his palm against the center of its brows.
"Cloud Sweep," Di Tian said flatly. At the instant his hand touched the gigantic head, his entire body sank into it. Without a single pause, once he went through, he moved towards the deeper parts of the head.
A loud bang traveled out from the head at that moment, and countless cracks marred its surface. Eventually, it was torn to pieces and exploded.
Yet the moment it exploded, the fingers of Di Tian's right hand touched the five-layered golden screen of light. It flashed viciously, but even as it continuously shattered and broke, it managed to force Di Tian back.
Numerous crushed stones fell from the sky. Golden light filled the air, with Su Ming standing within it, and the presence that belonged to the second God of Berserkers could be clearly felt from him!
During that most critical period, Su Ming did not hesitate to fuse with the Welcoming of Deities once again, causing his presence and body to change. He… looked just like the second God of Berserkers!
"This again!"
As Di Tian retreated, his facial expression turned incredibly dark. Su Ming's Five Direction Seal was an incredible headache to him. It was precisely because of this that Su Ming had managed to drive the God of Berserkers' spike into his body. In fact, even up to now, that wound had yet to heal, and was even continuously worsening, up to the point where it was already affecting his ability to bring out his power.
"Do you really think I can't break this Art? If it was the seal that was placed all those years ago by Sir Dao Chen [1], I wouldn't be able to break it, but now… the soul in this item has long since dissipated, it won't be difficult for me to open it!
"Heaven protects and establishes thee, that in everything thou dost prosper. May thy blessings come to thee tall alike the high hills and alike the mountain masses, eternal alike the topmost ridges, alike the greatest bulks, and alike the stream ever coming on, that there may none of thee that shalt not increase… Thou art alike the moon in the sky eternal, never waning, alike the sun rising in the east, never falling, alike the southern hills enjoying longevity, never ruined or destroyed. Thou art alike the luxuriant fir and cypress; may good fortune and longevity be with thee. [2]!
"The nine alikes as spoken in heaven's protections will be what I shall bestow upon you!"
Di Tian formed seals with both his hands, and as he said those words, each time he said the word 'alike', he would swiftly change a seal, and only once he finished saying the nine alikes did he finish forming all the seals. As he pushed the Art forward, nine gigantic 'alikes' appeared in the air before him!
Alike!
These nine words exuded an ancient air, along with a primitive presence. At the same time they appeared, Di Tian's clone aged by quite a few years. Clearly, this Art of the nine alikes as spoken in heaven's protections was something extraordinary!
Or else he would not have used Su Ming's Divine Will's Lightning to try and break the seal earlier instead of casting this Art himself.
As Di Tian pointed forward, the nine words charged towards Su Ming in a flash. Su Mint did not dodge. Instead, with a glint in his eyes, he allowed the nine words to crash onto the screen of light of the Five Direction Seal.
At the instant these nine words pressed down, the screen of light stopped shining. Instead, it swiftly disappeared from around Su Ming's body.
He did not understand the principle behind its disappearance, but he sensed the presence of Life from those nine words!
The instant the screen of light of the Five Direction Seal disappeared, Di Tian walked over. As for Su Ming, he lifted his head swiftly. The blood at the corners of his lips had yet to dry, but he had been waiting for the moment this screen of light would disappear!
This seal might be used for defense, but Su Ming did not want to defend… he wanted to attack!
That was why he allowed Di Tian to stifle the screen of light. When it disappeared and Di Tian came over, Su Ming lifted his head, opened his mouth, and with his body that had now turned into the second God of Berserkers, he let out a roar!
The God of Berserkers' Roar!
Translator's Notes:
1. Dao Chen: Is written as 道晨 (Dao4 Chen2), and literally means Dao + Morning/Dawn/birth of a new life (but that's metaphorical), which means Morning Dao. I'm sure you're all familiar with this?
His is the same case as Mo Luo and Scour Sieve Island.
Person's name → Dao Chen, everything else is Morning Dao. It also makes my eyes bleed to see just because that person decided to name things after his own name, and then I'll be calling Mo Luo Island this, Great Dao Chen World that. Then the novel will be littered with pinyin all over the place, and it's a pain to read, even for me.
So we have here the combination of the two, I hope you'll accept it.
2. This whole entire thing is an excerpt from THE THIEN PAO in the Book of Odes/Shi Jing, it has been translated by Jean Elizabeth, who is a Poet Laureate Ward. This is THE ONE AND ONLY translated version of the Book of Odes. It's very, very beautiful, much better than the shitty version up there (the reason behind why she's a Poet Laureate Ward), and while I COULD copy+paste the poem here, the structures in Jean Elizabeth's poem don't quite suit Di Tian's structure of attack. I have to admit though, I kind of... referred to hers, so a lot of her wording and structure influenced my own translation. *Sigh
Here's a link to the original.
http://www.100jia.net/texte/shijing/shijinglegge/shih02.htm
Oh wait, there should be a reference, no in-text citation though.
Elizabeth, J. (2008). Lulu Press. Morrisville, NC, pp. 89 - 90.