<h4>Chapter 1023 Ashes</h4>


    Besides Dust Burners, Heaven Traversers also remained silent. At that moment, even though they also noticed the fifth stone''s presence, Heaven Traversers'' Progenitor only opened his eyes while sitting cross-legged. Then he closed his eyes again, not attempting to snatch the fifth stone like he would have done in the past.


    He knew that each time a fifth stone appeared, that presence which did not blend with the universe in this ce would sweep through the entire Divine Essence Star Ocean and attract numerous beast swarms to fight over it.


    Once they seized the fifth stone, they could head to the mysterious Fifth True World through that stone, and rumors regarding the Fifth True World had circted in Divine Essence Star Ocean for a long time.


    After all, the fifth kiln flew out from that ce, and from the supreme treasures in there, it could be seen just how rich was that mysterious Fifth True World.


    And… that ce was already empty of life. If anyone obtained a serendipity in that empty gxy, it would be incredibly great!


    Even if they did not choose to go to the Fifth True World, as long as they had the fifth stone in their possession, they could choose to do one of two things with it. One of them was to pass it to the guardian races in the fifth ocean. They would offer an incredibly high price in exchange for the fifth stone.


    The other would be… to refine the fifth stone into an Enchanted Treasure. They could borrow the power that did not blend with thews in the gxy and create… a supreme treasure that could cut throughws. It was not that there were no such treasure in Divine Essence Star Ocean, but most of them were legacy treasures of various races.


    They were just like the runic symbol on Heaven Traversers'' Progenitor in the past. When they created it, they had added the fifth stone in it!


    These three temptations were enough to cause crazy fights over it, and the disaster that stirred up every single time the fifth stone appeared to be one filled with blood.


    After all, it wasn''t only the ferocious beasts and the races at the core of Divine Essence Star Ocean sense the fifth stone''s appearance. All the races and ferocious beasts within the inner parts and the periphery also sensed the stone''s appearance at that instant.


    In fact… some of the Ancestral Spirits who were originally deep in sleep opened their eyes under the stimtion. The booming soundsing from the regions in Divine Essence Star Ocean reached their most intense volume at that moment.


    "The fifth stone…" The ground in a copsed. A huge hand clenched its fingers into fist in the depths of the ground. A giant crept out of the earth. The giant had two heads and threw both of them back to roar at the sky.


    "The fifth stone appeared again…" As faint sounds echoed in a wastnd covered in dust, a strange living creature with a semi-transparent body slowly gained corporeal form. When it stared into the distance, it moved in a sh and disappeared.


    Scenes like this appeared in many ces within the gxy. Everyone''s attention was directed… at the fifth stone!


    During that instant, Su Ming also noticed the ripples of power from the fifth stone that did not blend with the fifth stone, and a glint appeared in his eyes. He understood why Tian Xie Zi was chased down by the four great alien races because of one fifth stone. In fact, there had definitely been other races and ferocious beasts who had went after his life as well.


    ''A stone like this…''


    Su Ming stared at the fifth stone. When it was in the kiln, it did not stand out, but when it was in the world outside, it was as dazzling as the sun, because it did not belong to this world. Because of that… it was not epted, and became a sharp weapon that could fight against thews in this ce!


    This sort of stone would definitely be desired by others!


    ''It doesn''t matter whether it''s Heaven Traversers'' Progenitor or Dust Burners, neither of them told me the truth. As for Dijiu Mo Sha, with his level of cultivation, he wouldn''t have been able to know too much about the fifth stone.


    ''Since it is such a treasure, no wonder it would stir up such a fight over it.''


    Su Ming remained silent for a moment before he formed a seal with his right hand and pointed at the fifth stone with a finger. However, the stone did not move. It continued to stay beside Su Ming, shining with a golden light. It would not enter the storage bag.


    Su Ming frowned, then a fierce re appeared in his eyes. He opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath in the direction of the fifth stone. It shuddered and rushed into Su Ming''s mouth. It was instantly swallowed, and golden light spread out from Su Ming''s body. After some time, it slowly vanished.


    However, this was just a temporary suppression; it would not be long before the stone flew out again. Su Ming was able to hide it for a time only because his soul was that of an Abyss Builder, and they came from the Fifth True World, same as the fifth stone.


    If Su Ming''s real self had been there, he would have been able topletely amodate the fifth stone and not have a single ripple of power spread out. However, he didn''t have it, and so he could not hide the stone permanently.


    Su Ming was silent for a moment before casting a nce at the fifth kiln and pointing at it.


    When he did so, booming sounds came from the kiln, and it started trembling. A great sea of fire swiftly spread out from within it, making the kiln to look as if it was burning.


    Immediately after, a couple figures were swept out by the impact of the mes and pushed out of the kiln. Among them were Xuan Shang, Reverend Zi Long, me Fiends'' Progenitor, and also Progenitor Long Hai, whose body was no longer illusory.


    Thest to appear was Zhu You Cai.


    These people were the survivors. As the fifth kiln trembled, they were all forcefully expelled from the dimensions in which they had been. Once they left the fifth kiln, all of them had different expressions on their faces when they looked at Su Ming.


    These people had been close to the first border when they were in the fifth kiln. They had sacrificed arge amount of life force for that, but Su Ming did not feel at ease with them staying there, which was why he decided to have the fifth kiln chase all of them out.


    He swept his gaze past the crowd before stopping on Zhu You Cai. This man was also looking Su Ming. The two of them met each other''s gazes, and Zhu You Cai''s eyes lit up swiftly.


    "Huo Kui," Su Ming said faintly.


    The eyes of me Fiends'' Progenitor shone. When he looked at Su Ming, he took a few steps backwards. He might have left the fifth kiln, but he was incredibly weak at that moment, and his wariness towards Su Ming did not reduce. Instead, it had be greater.


    "I promised you this corpse. Take it." As Su Ming spoke, he struck the storage bag with his right hand, and the corpse of the white-robed teenager who was the centipede immediately appeared in front of Su Ming. When he threw it, it charged towards me Fiends'' Progenitor.


    me Fiends'' Progenitor was stunned, then hesitated for a moment while looking at Su Ming.


    But the other''s expression remained empty. Not a single change could be detected on him.


    With hesitation, me Fiends'' Progenitor watched the corpse getting closer to him. He could not see through Su Ming''s thoughts and did not know whether there was any form of trap waiting for him in that corpse, but if he gave up on it just like this, it would be incredibly difficult for him to find another corpse in Mastery Realm.


    At that moment, he gritted his teeth. He believed that Su Ming should not be intending to kill him and that even if he wanted something from him, it wouldn''t be something like the position of a guard due to his level of cultivation. Hence, resolve appeared in his eyes. He charged towards the corpse of the white-robed teenager. It was much stronger than his previous physical body. Because of it, not only would he have not suffered any loss in this venture, he would have instead obtained a serendipity.


    However, the instant he approached the white-robed teenager''s corpse, Reverend Zi Long had already taken a step forward and appeared beside the corpse. He lifted his right arm and swung it, and the expression of me Fiends'' Progenitor changed swiftly before he moved back swiftly.


    "Fellow Daoist Zi Long, what is the meaning of this?!" me Fiends'' Progenitor immediately demanded in a shrill voice.


    "This person is a guest of the four Great True Worlds. I will take his corpse back," Reverend Zi Long said faintly, but he did not look at Huo Kui. Instead, he looked towards Su Ming.


    "That''s my war trophy," Su Ming said in a soft voice while staring at Reverend Zi Long with a frown. Besides a few people, there was not a single bit of fondness within him towards the four Great True Worlds. At that moment, as he said those words coldly, a gray tint gradually appeared in his hair.


    "Oh? Then I''d like to see whether this war trophy of yours will belong to you."


    A brilliant light shone in Reverend Zi Long''s eyes. He paid no attention towards the matter of bringing the white-robed teenager''s corpse back to the four Great True Worlds; he wasn''t bothered by it in the least. What he paid attention to was the blood of Ancient Wu within it. If he refined that corpse''s body and gathered together a hint of Ancient Wu''s blood, his trip to the fifth kiln wouldn''t have gone to waste.


    Hence he absolutely wanted that corpse. As he spoke, he patted the white-robed teenager''s corpse with his right hand and put it into his storage bag before casting a cold nce at Su Ming.


    This scene caused the people around them to keep their expressions still. Xuan Shang took a few careful steps backwards. When he narrowed his eyes, he stared at Xu Hui and at the body of the supreme treasure she possessed at that moment, and a barely noticeable resentment as well as anger shone in his eyes.


    Zhu You Cai did not speak. His expression remained the same, and his thoughts could not be seen.


    As for me Fiends'' Progenitor, his expression was dark, but he knew that even if he had a physical body at that moment, he would still not be Reverend Zi Long''s opponent. He could only grit his teeth and tolerate it.


    At that moment, Su Ming''s hair had turnedpletely gray. This change was immediately seen by everyone, especially Reverend Zi Long. His pupils shrank in a barely noticeable manner. The Su Ming at that moment suddenly gave him an incredibly dangerous feeling. It was a feeling of death, a cold, freezing presence that was akin to the arrival of midwinter.


    That feeling caused him to instantly gather up his power, and a light lit up in his eyes.


    The gray Su Ming signified extreme rationality and the power of hell. He no longer cared about his methods when he did things, but only about whether he would seed in the end.


    "Long Hai, if you still don''t attack, then I will immediately crush your oath and make you lose your soul forever!" As Su Ming said those words in a cold voice, he swept his gaze towards Zhu You Cai.


    "Fellow Daoist Change He, it is not impossible to resurrect your wife.


    "Progenitor Huo Kui. This is your physical body, since I already gave it to you, then it has nothing to do with me anymore. I will help you attack, but you also have to fight for it yourself!"


    The three sentences spoken tly immediately caused Long Hai, Zhu You Cai, and Progenitor Huo Kui''s expressions to change.


    Reverend Zi Long''s heart also suddenly let out a loud thump, and his expression changed drastically.


    A monstrous savage re appeared in Zhu You Cai''s eyes, which had turned bloodshot. At that moment, he looked as if he had gone mad. He fixed his stare on Su Ming for a moment, then whipped his head around to reveal powerful killing intent. His power went into a rampage while he stared at Reverend Zi Long.


    Long Hai''s expression changed. Hostility appeared on his face when he red at Zi Long.


    As for me Fiends'' Progenitor, his Nascent Divinity went into a rage. Killing intent shed past his face, and burning mes erupted from within him.


    The three of them split up into three different directions to surround Reverend Zi Long, and the gray Su Ming lifted his right hand. The Life Inequity Spear appeared with a buzz.


    A freezing re shone in Su Ming''s eyes when he asked in a freezing tone, "Are you going to give me my war trophy back, or not?"