The first thing Su Ming copied in his life allowed him to create Berserker Obliteration. He might have gradually reduced the use of this Art as his level of cultivation increased, but it was his first step towards becoming a powerful Berserker.
In his second copy he recreated the Roc's great speed, allowing his speed to surpass his limits. His understanding as well as mastery towards wind then gave him the opportunity to obtain the Wind Berserker's Inheritance, which let him master the three styles of Wind Separation.
And on this day, during the final exchange in the promised three divine abilities duel in his match against Shen Dong, Su Ming decided to copy something once again!
This time, he did not have a drawing board, because his heart was the drawing board itself! This time, he did not hold a pen in his hand, because his soul was the world's pen!
With Destiny's control over the cycles of time, he watched time flow back and observed the changes in the Verdant Abyssal Seal before he fused all his observations into the copy in his heart. At that moment, the world Su Ming saw in his eyes was surrounded by green fog. Then, after it appeared, it gathered together into a seal before eventually exploding with a bang. The thing that triggered the explosion was not the power of cultivation, not the life force within the world, and neither was it the spiritual aura in the universe. It was instead triggered by… a faint wisp of the power of death.
The power of that blast had moved Su Ming, caused his heart to race, made his pupils shrink, and even made his breathing immediately quicken.
He now knew why such a huge pit would appear in the sky. He now knew the source of Verdant Abyssal Seal's great strength. He had seen that the pit in the sky was not formed because of the sky's collapse, but had been caused because of the endless Yin Death aura behind the sky having spilled forward, tearing through the sky to descend to this place, as if it had been summoned here.
This Yin Death aura was the power from the Yin Death Fog beyond the sky!
'Seven Abyssal Yin Death Seal… Verdant Abyssal Seal!'
A brilliant light shone in Su Ming's eyes. If it was not because of Destiny, he would not have seen the source of Verdant Abyssal Seal's power. If time had not flowed back, he would not have been able to see the entire process of the seal fading away!
If this was his first time copying something, just like he did when he was at the ninth summit and copying something to clear his own mind, then he would not have been able to see the source of this Seven Abyssal Yin Death Seal with just one glance!
Green gradually appeared in Su Ming's eyes, though it instantly vanished. He closed his eyes.
Shen Dong's eyes were wide from disbelief and shock at the moment. There was also a hint of incredulity in his gaze as he looked towards Su Ming.
'That divine ability just now… Time reversal… With that divine ability, he observed my Yin Death Seal and actually managed to find some clues about how it works. By the looks of it, he had also come to understand it somewhat… Just what sort of comprehensive ability does this person have? If he truly understood the Seven Abyssal Yin Death Seal, I… I… This is impossible!'
Shen Dong laughed wryly. He remembered that he had used a long amount of time to practice this Seven Abyssal Yin Death Seal, and even now, he had only managed to somewhat master the first seal.
If Su Ming had truly managed to see through the true form and the origin of the Art, then this would definitely deal a huge blow to Shen Dong's pride.
As he laughed wryly, Su Ming opened his eyes. A green vortex shone in his eyes, and when Shen Dong saw it, a loud roar rang in his heart.
"Thank you for you Art, brother Shen!"
Su Ming's eyes regained focus. The green vortex in his pupils vanished, and with a stern look on his face, he wrapped his fist in his palm and bowed deeply towards Shen Dong.
The Immortal was momentarily stunned, then he carefully asked, "You… You learned it?"
"There are still some parts that remain unclear to me, and I only managed to understand some of it. This Art uses the will of death within itself to stir up the aura of death from the world to form this Rune so that it can summon the Yin Death Fog beyond the sky. Once everything connects together, the Yin Death aura that is filled with death will explode," Su Ming said calmly.
Shen Dong's breathing quickened, and his gaze as he looked towards Su Ming was filled with astonishment, shock, complicated feelings, and also distress. After a long while, he laughed wryly and shook his head.
"My fellow Daoist, I've only seen that sort of comprehensive ability you possess in Ye Wang, who is among our generation. This match has ended, and I have lost. Even if that Seven Abyssal Yin Death Seal had landed on you just now, that time reversal divine ability of yours would still have been able to break my Art." Shen Dong sucked in a deep breath and wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming.
"Our match today was truly delightful. I've also obtained quite a lot from this match, and I can feel that I'm no longer far away from reaching my breakthrough. For this, I must thank you, my fellow Daoist...
"But you must be careful. The death of an Evil Spirit Sect Elder in Ascendance is no trivial matter. I have my duties at hand and must report this… I hope you will remain safe." As Shen Dong spoke, he cast Su Ming a deep look and turned around before he changed into a long arc and charged into the distance.
Su Ming watched Shen Dong leave, and after a long while, the green vortex of fog appeared in his eyes once again. As it spun, Su Ming slowly lifted his right hand, and the same green vortex of fog could be seen on his right hand. A thick aura of death seeped out.
'You are not from Yin Death Region, that's why mastering this Art is so difficult for you… The senior who created this divine ability must have surely come from Yin Death Region…
'Judging by Shen Dong's words, he obtained this Art in the land of Immortals. If that is the case… then if the senior who created this divine ability truly came from Yin Death Region, how… did he manage to get out of this place?'
Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the sky. A chilling glare appeared in his eyes.
"One of these days, I will definitely break through this sky… and step into your world. I can feel it, that day is no longer far away," Su Ming mumbled. He clenched his right hand tightly into a fist, and the green vortex on his palm immediately disappeared. He turned around and strode towards Hidden Dragon Sect's branch, which was now gradually brightening up as the light of dawn was slowly chasing away the darkness.
Almost at the moment Su Ming moved towards Hidden Dragon Sect's branch, a gigantic dragon head peeked out of the clouds in the endless sky above the ground, right before darkness was broken by light.
That dragon's head was yellowish brown, and there was a murderous look on its stern countenance. As it lowered its head, it swept its gaze across the land, as if it was looking at Su Ming. On its back was a woman with rosy cheeks. There were roasted seeds in her hands, and she was eating them as her eyes twinkled with a lively sparkle.
'He's a rare Abyss Builder, a race rumored to have gone extinct in the Emperor of Abyss' True World… and he has high comprehensive abilities as well… And when I was watching him fight against that Immortal from the inferior world in True Morning Dao World… he showed the signs of the Abyss as well. I didn't expect to be able to see such a person here!' The woman's eyes sparkled, and when some unknown thought struck her head, she slowly started chuckling, with evident smugness.
'He's from the Emperor of Abyss' True World, and also a rare Abyss Builder, and he has such incredible comprehensive abilities, and has even showed signs of the Abyss to boot... Aaah~ Just what sort of good things can I get if I sell this person off?
'Who should I sell him to? Should I sell him to grandpa Prince Ming, or big sister Fu Shui, or should I just straight up sell him to the Emperor of Abyss?' As these thoughts raced in the woman's head, her spirits lifted and her eyes shone in excitement. She had even stopped eating the seeds.
"Ah, I don't care. I'll sell him to everyone. Then at least my efforts for saving him previously won't be wasted. I'll just treat it as getting paid for saving him, but I don't think I'll go to the Emperor of Abyss. That old man is too shrewd and miserly. He won't even give a single spirit stone!"
Once the yellow dragon heard those words, it immediately shuddered, and terror appeared on its face.
The woman's expression grew even more smug, and she reached out to grab the yellow dragon's head with her right hand. The dragon shuddered and instinctively ducked its head, causing the woman to grab empty air.
"Xiao Huang, you're being disobedient!" The woman glared at the dragon, but her voice was incredibly sweet, able to make all those who heard it to feel their bodies tingle. That is to say if they did not see her face.
The murderous and stern look was gone from the yellow dragon's face, replaced by a miserable expression. It closed its eyes, and the woman grabbed its head with her right hand. Then, with one quick yank, she plucked three whiskers from its head. The yellow dragon yelped in pain.
The woman took one of the three whiskers and opened her petite mouth before blowing on it softly. A breath of her life drifted into the air. When it touched the whisker, it was immediately set afire.
As it burned, a wisp of white smoke floated into the sky, but it did not dissipate. Instead, it gathered together in midair and turned into a ring-shaped circle. The inside of it was muddy, and whatever was inside could not be seen clearly.
"Grandpa Prince Ming, I know you can hear me. Stop hiding." The woman blinked and let out a fake cough before she spoke sweetly.
The circle remained murky, and not a hint of change could be detected. The white smoke was also slowly disappearing, and by the looks of it, it would not take too long before it completely disappeared.
"Ah… and here I just found a person with great potential. The first person I thought of to tell was you, you know? But oh well, since you're not here, then I guess I'll have to go to big sister Fu Shui…"
The woman put on a regretful face, but she was staring at the circle of smoke without so much as blinking. When the circle became even thinner, a thought appeared in her head.
"Oh well, I guess this Abyss Builder is simply not fated to meet you, grandpa Prince Ming. Oh well…" As the woman spoke, she lifted her right hand, but just as she was about to wave her hand to dispel the almost completely gone circle of smoke—
At the instant she said her final sentence, the thin circle of smoke immediately froze and no longer continued fading away. Instead, it swiftly gathered together, and the murkiness within instantly went away to be replaced by clarity.
A chamber was shown within the circle, and there was an old man with a head full of white hair sitting cross-legged within it. The old man's form was indistinct, and his face could not be seen clearly. However, his gaze could be felt piercing through the circle of smoke, and he was looking at the woman.
"Hey there, old man Ming. It's been a while." The woman's lips lifted into a playful smile, and she lifted her hand to give him a little wave, as if she was greeting him.
"Hmph, how rude! Where are your manners?! You're always acting so wildly! How dare you steal the Cross Borders Spirit just so that you can run away from getting married to the Emperor of Abyss' fourth prince? Do you have any idea just what sort of trouble you've got yourself into this time?!"
"Eh… Gee, old man, that's my personal problem. Why are you butting into my business? So what if I want to run away? What Cross Borders Spirit are you talking about? I don't know what you're saying…" the woman said with a huff, glaring. As for the Cross Borders Spirit, she could only express confusion.
The yellow dragon beneath her put on a miserable face. Just as it was about to lower its head, the old man's voice traveled through the circle of smoke.
"Fine. I don't want to be bothered by this anyway. What Abyss Builder were you talking about just now?" The old man changed the topic and finally talked about the reason behind him showing up.