Chapter 1031

The jade slip was what Dust Burners’ Progenitor had given to Su Ming in the past . Marked on it were certain regions of the Fifth True World . Su Ming memorized the contents, and as he moved forward, he saw a white river several days later .

‘The Fifth Abyss River…’

Su Ming’s footsteps came to a halt and he looked at the Abyss River that seemed to cut apart the galaxy . He also saw two… gigantic voids at the two distant ends of the river .

He had no idea where those two gigantic voids went . They existed in the galaxy, and the white Abyss River flowed between them, making those two voids look like two eyes with empty gazes .

When Su Ming read the jade slip with the Fifth True World’s map he’d gotten from Dust Burners’ Progenitor, he saw the Fifth Abyss River carved on it . It was just a simple carving, but its head was white .

That was because white symbolized the abyss . It did not mean death, but was the manifestation of an idea . Right then, Su Ming saw the Fifth Abyss River .

He realized that the river was the exact same as what he had imagined in his head . The two voids that looked like eyes and connected the two ends also fit with Su Ming’s imagination .

“On one end is a planet called Burning Dust…” Su Ming mumbled . It was on the carved map within the jade slip . When he raised his head, he headed for the Fifth Abyss River .

The closer he went, the thicker the aura of death became . Su Ming saw corpses drifting about in the Fifth Abyss River, and when he left, he suddenly stopped before turning his head around to look back .

He had a vague feeling that something was off, but he was momentarily unable to figure out just what gave him that feeling . In silence, Su Ming said softly, “Baldy…”

He was calling out to the bald crane in his storage bag, but he obtained no answer . When he frowned, he fused his Atman into his storage bag and saw… that the bald crane was not in there .

A glint shone in Su Ming’s eyes, and the feeling that something was off became stronger .

After remaining silent for a moment, he chose to leave .

When he left, the numerous corpses in the Fifth Abyss River continued drifting about . However… all them looked as if they were lying face down in the river . One could only see their backs, but not their faces .

Su Ming walked through the galaxy . He had no idea how much time had passed . He seemed to have forgotten about the passage of time while he traveled through the Fifth True World . He just continued walking until he saw a planet in the distant galaxy .

It was a burning planet . Thick waves of fire spread from it, enveloping it in a sea of fire .

That planet was the origin of Fire Spirits which Dust Burners’ Progenitor had spoken about .

Su Ming stared at the planet, and the feeling that something was off became stronger in his heart, but he still could not find what in particular gave him that feeling . His heart was on guard, but even so… he still could not discover any form of threat .

From the moment he stepped into that place to the moment he saw the planet, he was the only person in the galaxy . He did not see another living being .

Su Ming was silent . With hesitation, he walked towards Burning Dust Planet . He walked past the sea of fire, and when he stepped on the planet, he spread out his Atman, but he still did not find any signs of life .

The ground was a desert, a plain of sand burning in a sea of fire . The sky was crimson red and filled with flames . There were no… rivers or trees in the planet . The only thing there was sand .

Su Ming grabbed a burning lump of earth and put it into his storage bag . He cast a scrutinizing glance at Burning Dust Planet again before turning around quietly and leaving .

He walked absentmindedly within the Fifth True World, which was completely devoid of life . He was the only person in the whole world and the entire universe . The silence around him gradually turned suffocating, which gave Su Ming a feeling as if there was a depression in him that he could not vent out .

However, he also felt that everything was as it should be . The Fifth True World was supposed to be an existence void of life . It was a dead universe . The destruction here, the wastelands, and everything else were the exact same as he had imagined . There was nothing different . . .

Time passed year by year, with Su Ming continuing to charge forward through the galaxy . He only had one goal—a planet marked on the map that was located far in the distance .

A planet called Abyss Vessel .

It was Abyss Builders’ homeland and also his race’s holy land . In the past, Abyss Builders’ Progenitor lived over there .

Time passed quietly, without notice . Then one day, when Su Ming felt that he should be near the planet, he saw an aquamarine blue cultivation planet ahead of himself .

That color was incredibly unique in the galaxy, making it hard to forget after seeing it once .

‘Abyss Vessel Planet…’

When Su Ming saw the blue planet, his body trembled . In silence, he walked closer to it . When he came onto the planet, stepped into its atmosphere, he saw that it was a wasteland .

Only the azure blue shade of the seawater moved about as waves formed on the water’s surface . It was all silent, and even the sound of the waves seemed to be completely cut off .

There was wreckage all over the ground . Shattered rocks were everywhere, and Su Ming could vaguely see an image of numerous cities, but all of them had been reduced to ruins .

There were no mountains that were too tall . All of them were broken, as if they were the proofs that a war that shook the entire Fifth True World had happened there in the past .

While in midair, Su Ming stared at the ground and the wreckage on it . He walked down in silence, then went past the ruins of numerous cities until he reached the center of the planet . He saw an island in an ocean there, and on it was a gigantic palace, most of whose structure had collapsed .

Once, there had been plenty of statues standing tall at the square in front of it, but there were only three of them left .

Two were headless . Clearly, they had been shattered during the war in the past . Only one statue was still complete, and it portrayed a woman .

Su Ming stared at it, for it was his mother, the woman who was currently lying in the coffin within the fifth kiln and absorbing life force to preserve her life . It was her statue .

Based on the statues’ positions, one of the headless two stood at the center . It should have belonged to the most important person . He might not have a head anymore, but Su Ming could tell that it should have been of Abyss Builders’ Progenitor .

By his side was Su Ming’s mother, so on his other side…

With a complicated gaze, Su Ming looked at the other headless statue, and his appearance was just as indistinct and vague as in his imagination…

Su Ming remained silent for a long time before turning around and walking through practically the entire Abyss Builders’ planet . Several days later, when he returned back, he sat down cross-legged in front of his mother’s statue . He just sat there quietly and stared at the statue before he looking at his surroundings and sinking into a pensive silence .

Time slowly passed by him . One year, two years… five years… ten years…

Su Ming still sat there without moving . However, as time passed, a brilliant dark light gathered in his eyes, and he gradually closed them .

In the core of Divine Essence Star Ocean was the fifth ocean, and the deepest part of it was a place the world outside could not see . The sea of fog there tumbled about, surrounding a gigantic altar .

On the altar there was a huge mirror made of aquamarine blue . It was crystal clear and exuded a powerful, mighty pressure . It spread out as if it was suppressing the entire fifth ocean and forced the sea of fog tumbling about to quiet down when it reached a certain point .

At that moment, the four people with the Masks of Happiness, Anger, Grief, and Resentment were sitting cross-legged around the huge mirror . They did not close their eyes but were staring at the crystal-like surface before them .

After a long while, the person with the Mask of Grief lowered his head and sighed softly . There was no longer cold detachment within his eyes, but a complicated look .

As he sighed, the person with the Mask of Anger turned his head towards him before asking in a low voice, “Can take it anymore?” There was a magnificence to that voice, along with a domineering air that made him seem as if he was looking down at the universe .

“I am indeed unable to bear with it any longer, but you are the same . ” When the person with the Mask of Grief said those words flatly, he cast a glance at the person with the Mask of Anger .

That person lowered his head in silence . After a long while, he let out a long sigh and mumbled under his breath, “Perhaps I made a mistake in the past . “

“From the moment we gave up on our identities from the Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos and became the guardians of Dark Dawn Ocean, we drew a line between ourselves and our pasts . We cut off all ties with all the emotions we had in the past .

“This is just the first test by Dark Dawn Ocean . If he can’t even see through the test in this place, then he is not a person needed by the 180 Expanse Cosmoses in Dark Dawn,” a low voice said, coming from the person with the Mask of Happiness .

“You once mentioned that besides the four great legacies of happiness, anger, grief, and resentment, there is in truth still another legacy . There should be five guardians in Dark Dawn Ocean . Who is the fifth person?” a hoarse voice asked faintly and abruptly, coming from the person next to the Mask of Anger who had not yet spoken before .

“Happiness, Anger, Grief, Resentment, and Cessation . The fifth legacy has absolutely no emotions within it . It is the Mask of Cessation that disperses all seven emotions and six desires,” the person with the Mask of Happiness said flatly .

“I have a question . The three of us have had many scions, but you once said that there is only one generation for the legacy of happiness . I’m very curious . Just… who were you when you were in Arid Triad Expanse Cosmos?” the person with the Mask of Grief immediately asked .

“When it will be time for the three of you to know, you will naturally know,” the person with the Mask of Happiness said calmly .

The people with the Masks of Anger, Grief, and Resentment fell silent when they heard it, but they still looked at the person with the Mask of Happiness with curiosity .

At that moment, the crystal mirror around they sat suddenly became muddled . As clouds and fog surrounded it, it looked like there was wind stirring up and clouds surging around them . Buzzing sounds reverberated in the area, and the people with Masks of Anger, Grief, and Resentment immediately looked over . Only the person with the Mask of Happiness remained as aloof as ever .