Pursuit of the Truth 129 A Piece of Beast Skin

It was Su Ming’s dream to reach the Awakening Realm, hence his knowledge regarding ir was not limited to the information provided by beast skin scrolls. He had also obtained the knowledge provided by the elder over the years.
Su Ming knew that Awakening meant that once the solidified blood veins reached a certain amount in the body, an earthshaking change would occur. That change was like a butterfly breaking out of a cocoon. The solidified blood veins would spread out from the body and turn into Berserker Blood, then the person could use his Berserker Blood to draw a Mark on his own body.
Everyone’s Mark was different. There was not a single Mark that was identical to another in the world. Even if they looked similar, there were still differences. The Berserker Mark would be drawn based on the individual’s vague sensation of the Mark he found within himself.
However, if he could not find that sensation, then he had to deliberately draw a Berserker Mark on his own body. Yet if that was the case, then that Mark would be much weaker in terms of power.
That was why there were some people who had already reached the Awakening Realm, but still chose not to draw their own Berserker Marks. They did not want to regret their decisions, so they rather were stuck in that stage and searched long and hard for that indescribable feeling.
The moment the Berserker Mark was drawn, it would be impossible to change it. On top of that, the more complex the Mark was, the training would also become more difficult. Their training speed could not compare to those who had simple Berserker Marks. Yet even though it was hard, if the Berserker succeeded, then the one with the complex Mark would be much stronger than all the other Berserkers in the same stage!
The success rate of reaching Awakening Realm was related to the amount of solidified blood veins. The more blood veins a Berserker had, the more likely he was to succeed. In fact, the more blood veins the Berserker had, the stronger he would be when he reached the initial stage of the Awakening Realm.
In fact, if a Berserker had more than 950 blood veins, then once he Awakened, the other Berserkers at the initial stage of the Awakening Realm would be no match to that person. His power may not be as strong as of those in the middle stage of the Awakening Realm, but he would be a powerful existence among others in the initial stage of the Awakening Realm.
However, most people only had around 781 blood veins. Even if they could add to the amount of blood veins, it was difficult for them to manifest 900 of them. With that said, unless a Berserker had incredible determination, persistence, luck, confidence, and the protection by his tribe, then no one could continue manifesting the blood veins in his body without getting killed in the long run.
Besides, once a certain amount of blood veins had been manifested, then time no longer became a factor for a Berserker’s blood veins to increase. Sometimes, even if dozens of years passed by, it would still be difficult to add even one more blood vein.
It was difficult Awakening, yet if a Berserker was satisfied with the amount of blood veins he had, then it would also be easy to Awaken. It would be easy if he did not seek to gain more blood veins. It was not as if there were no Awakened Berserkers who only had around 800 blood veins. It all depended on a person’s will.
Once a Berserker Awakened and drew his Berserker Mark, then it did not matter what method he used, he had to use the onset power of the Berserker Mark and synthesize an item with his own body. This item would become that Berserker’s very first personal Berserker Vessel!
Berserker Vessels were incredibly important to all those who reached the Awakening Realm.
That was why those who had reached the peak of the Blood Solidification Realm and could Awaken at any time they wanted would prepare the materials for this item beforehand. This was to prevent the situation where they could not synthesize their Vessel once they Awakened, which would serve to cause a lot of hindrances and regret later on.
Unless, of course, that person was a prodigy that belonged to a strong tribe. Those prodigies had no need to prepare materials. There would be adults who would help them receive everything they needed beforehand. After all, Awakening was a big event for all middle-sized tribes.
Su Ming had once heard from the elder that if a Berserker wanted to prevent the item from denying him during the synthesis, then he would need to gather one drop of blood and place it on the item. This would have to be repeated every once in a while. Only then would a connection be formed between the item and the Berserker’s Qi so that accidents could be prevented in the future when the Berserker Awakened.
There was a white diamond-shaped leaf lying in the white stone box in Su Ming’s hand at the moment. The leaf’s shape may have been odd, but the veins on it were very distinct, making it clear that it was indeed a leaf.
There was a drop of blood on the leaf, though there was not much left. About a third of the veins of the leaf had turned red.
‘This is the item He Feng had prepared for synthesis during Awakening!’
Su Ming looked at the white leaf in the box, and his eyes sparkled. The value of this item far exceeded the stone coins. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that its value could not be determined.
To those who had already made preparations for Awakening, this was not important. Yet for those who had not made adequate preparations, the value of this thing could make them empty all the coins in their possession.
Since He Feng had placed this item in this obviously expensive stone box, then it was clear that this was not an ordinary item. After all, he was once a member of Han Mountain Tribe. Even if Han Mountain Tribe was destroyed, if he could have that purple bag and a great treasure, then it was certain that he could also have an extraordinary item for synthesis during Awakening.
Su Ming stared at the leaf in the stone box, then lifted his right hand to flick at it lightly. It trembled when his Qi crashed into it, and the stained blood on the leaf immediately flew out, turning into a ball of fire in midair until it burned away into nothingness.
He Feng’s blood may no longer be on the leaf, but some of it had still seeped into the leaf’s veins. Su Ming could not force it out in a short period of time, but he had patience.
Then he turned his attention to the black mask that seemed to attract his gaze.
He lifted the mask and stared at it, but he could not find any clues about it. In his silence, he lowered his head and looked at He Feng, who remained unconscious.
He got up and walked towards He Feng before slowly placing the mask on the man’s face. His actions were cautious and slow. When the mask covered He Feng’s face, he kept an eye open for any changes that could happen on his body, but right until the mask covered the whole face, nothing happened.
The mask was completely black. When it covered He Feng, it made him look as if he’d changed into another person. It was especially so since the mask only had two holes where the eyes should be without any other features that a face should have, causing his face to seem rather ghastly.
Su Ming frowned. He was about to take the mask off when his expression changed.
Right before his eyes, He Feng’s body started fading out as if he was becoming indistinct. The only thing that could be seen clearly was that mask.
Su Ming let out a small gasp and took the mask away from He Feng’s face. He examined He Feng’s body and his Qi carefully. Once he was certain that nothing had changed within He Feng, he relaxed and took a few steps backward. He was just about to try on the mask when he hesitated.
He did not put the mask on his face, but chose to take a few more looks at it before returning it into the purple bag.
‘He Feng is a man of way too many schemes. I have to be careful!’
Su Ming fell into pensive silence. Among these items, he was the most sceptical about the mask, but he had no way to be sure. Once he placed everything back into the bag, he looked at He Feng’s unconscious body and brought out all the herbs needed to create Spirit Plunder before jabbing bloody holes into He Feng’s body and placing the herbs one by one in him, according to the method of creating the pill in his head.
Su Ming could not tell what was so special about these herbs. Yet the moment they were placed in He Feng’s body, they withered right before his eyes and rapidly disappeared into the bloody holes.
Su Ming was not surprised when he saw this. Instead, his eyes flashed.
What happened was described in the procedures to create Spirit Plunder in his head. This meant that He Feng’s body was suitable for creating this pill. It could even be said that it was a very good vessel for the herbs to grow.
These herbs may have seemed to wither, but in truth, they had left seeds in He Feng’s body, which would then use his body as a cauldron to slowly grow. Once they had grown to a certain level, they could be used to create the pill.
Once he planted all the seeds, Su Ming sat down by the side and brought out the black bone he had bought in Han Mountain City along with the white bone from He Feng’s bag. He compared them and brought out two herbs from his bag. Then with the method to plant the herbs on the bones, he placed the herbs on them.
He would not be able to find any clues on whether they worked in the near future. Hence, Su Ming placed the two bones beside He Feng.
‘If that white bone can be used, then I’ll only need three more herbs and one beast bone to create Spirit Plunder.
‘I wonder if Fang Mu can find those three herbs.’
Su Ming thought about it, then decided to leave it aside. He took out the beast skin and bamboo slip from He Feng’s bag instead and started reading them in the quiet cave.
‘There’s no hurry for me to go to the place that contains the treasure He Feng told me about. Once it’s completely safe for me, then I can go get it. I wonder what sort of treasure it is though…’
Su Ming read the bamboo slip and thought at the same time.
Two days passed by quickly. During these two days, Su Ming would occasionally observe his "medicinal cauldron", and on other occasions, he would look at the herbs planted on the bones. He would also keep an eye on any possible changes outside. All his remaining time was spent learning the Branding Art written on the bamboo slip.
The Art was just as He Feng had said. It was very mysterious, but learning it was not difficult. However, this Branding Art did not require the use of Qi. Even if Su Ming had already understood it, he could not grasp the gist of it, that was why he could not cast it.
He raised his right hand and made a gesture stiffly, as if he was pinching his fingers, then he pushed forward a few times, but he felt nothing.
‘Just what is this Art?’
He scratched his head and looked at the still unconscious He Feng. He abandoned the idea of waking him up. The man’s body was shuddering even though he was unconscious as if he was in great pain. If Su Ming woke He Feng up, then problems might arise again, especially since Xuan Lun might have already returned.
Su Ming put away the bamboo slip and shifted his attention to the beast skin from He Feng’s bag. There were two Berserker Arts recorded on it. Su Ming had briefly read them a few days ago, and now, he used his full attention to examining them more thoroughly. Yet very soon, doubt appeared on his face.
‘I only need 20 blood veins to practice these Berserker Arts? And with 99 blood veins, I can already bring about their full potential… There’s nothing of use to me on this beast skin. Unless this is something from the trible, and He Feng’s keeping it around as a memento, there should be no need for him to carry it around.’
Su Ming looked at the beast skin again before he placed it by his side. With a frown, he looked at the unconscious He Feng.
‘This person is extraordinarily intelligent. It’s understandable if he was just bringing a memento around in remembrance of his tribe… but… I feel that something is wrong.’
Su Ming grabbed the beast skin by his side and cast his gaze on it again. Yet he still could not discover anything.
‘Did I make a wrong guess..?’
A sparkle appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He placed the beast skin under his nose, and the moment he sniffed it, his eyes lit up brightly.
Yet at that very moment, a muffled boom suddenly traveled from outside. The roars of wild beasts were mixed in that booming sound. Something had happened in the rainforest.
Su Ming immediately put away the beast skin and a wary look appeared on his face. His heart pounded against his chest, and he went to the side of the entrance of the cave before looking out cautiously.