Chapter 966 966 - Time



He continued gathering and condensing energy while watching it dissipate right before his very eyes.

Thus, the cycle continued.

Time began to pass. Soon, several days have gone by. 

A full month has passed.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed.

Aiden's injuries had long healed completely. However, his body's condition had not taken a turn for the better.

Isolated from the outside world, there was no flesh with life force or universal treasures here.

If they were hungry, these two men and one fox would get some vegetables and fruits from the plantation.

If they were thirsty, they would drink water from deep underground with a well.

For martial artists, this was nothing much.

Martial artists trained by absorbing spirit energy around them to raise their martial power realms.

However, demonic power required a large amount of life force!

For the past, Aiden's Ancient Primordial Dragonic Manual's technique seemed to have stagnated and his Inner Core was still webbed with tears without any signs of recovering.

In terms of the martial power, the energy that he had condensed for the past two and a half months had not triggered any reaction from his core.

His core was still empty and hollow.

Of course, Aiden's two and a half months had not gone to waste entirely either.

There were many secret classics of the Buddhist sects littered across the technique Chamber.

To his surprise, he realized that he could actually understand these initially dry and incomprehensible techniques!

It was as though he had been enlightened.

Time was fleeting and in the blink of an eye, another two and a half months have passed.

Aiden had already been at the bottom of the Dragon Burial Valley for almost half a year now.

His Inner Core had not shown any signs of recovery in these five full months.

The core in his abdomen was also like a swamp of still water, dead without any fluctuations to it.

Aiden's gaze was no longer as resolute and unshakable as before.

Was he going to continue to train like this foolishly?

When would a miracle finally happen?

After mulling in the courtyard, Aiden made a decision and opened up his storage, retrieving the ten thousand-year-old Vermilion Fruit from it.

The Vermilion Fruit was bright red and shiny, emitting a burning energy.

The ten thousand-year-old Vermilion Fruit had absorbed way too much blood from too many people!

It wasn't just the younger generation of the North Region – there were even hundreds of Martial Grandmasters that died!

Taking a deep breath of air, Aiden devoured the Vermilion Fruit in a single mouthful and assumed a meditative position, experiencing the changes in his body.

The Vermilion Fruit contained a tremendous amount of life force.

The life force turned into a violent cyclone that rippled through his entire body, cruising through his bloodline, flesh, bones, tendons, and organs!

Aiden composed himself, directing the rampant cyclone towards his core.

Normally speaking, the power of a Vermilion Fruit was enough to help a Martial Master advance a single minor realm!

In other words, if it was a late-stage Martial Master that devoured the Vermilion Fruit, he would be able to get to perfected Martial Master realm right away and would only be a half-step away from the Martial Grandmaster realm!

Aiden did not dream that he would be able to recover his martial power.

He merely hoped that he could retain some spirit energy in his core, even if he had to start from the very bottom once more.

Unfortunately, after that rampant cyclone of energy entered his core, it did not create much impact and was wiped away cleanly by the black hole core without any trace at all!

Aiden opened his eyes, looking a little lost and desolate.

For the past year, he had experienced countless defeats but the thought of giving up had never crossed his mind.

And yet, right now, his determination sank and his conviction wavered.

Sensing Aiden's disappointment, the little fox had a worried expression and rubbed her cheeks against Aiden's arm to console him.

"Little thing, I'm sorry. I've implicated you,"

Aiden stroked the little fox's spine and smiled in irony. "Initially, I wanted to take you away and leave that desolate underground cave. To think that we would end up in another cave of sorts."

"Heeya! Heeya!"

Although the little fox could not speak in human tongue, she waved her pair of paws and breathed in before gesturing above her head.

Aiden understood.

The little fox was saying that it was great here – the skies were vast and she could breathe fresh air daily.

Thereafter, the little fox pointed to herself before pointing to Aiden. Her watery huge eyes blinked and she flushed in an extremely charming manner.

Aiden's head was lowered and he did not catch sight of it, merely smiling in a dazed manner.

He had suddenly realized that there was a high chance he would be trapped at the bottom of the Dragon Burial Valley for his entire life, aging and waiting for his lifespan to wear out.

There was no need to think about revenge.

Less than that, there was no need to think about pursuing his sister, his granny, his master… his family.

At that moment, the holy voice reverberated through the old temple.

"Everything is divine and illusory; like lightning, life is merely fleeting."

The prayer sounded like heavenly flutes, reaching the depths of one's soul. Compared to the little monk's prays, it was even more moving and possessed a divine power of tranquility!

Instantly, Aiden's worries lessened considerably.

He turned towards the voice.

Within the old temple, the wooden doors of the grand hall creaked open.

The light inside was dim and a vague figure of a monk could be seen from the haziness. His beard was white and he was extremely skinny, sitting on the floor.

The little monk's master had finally exited his seclusion!

Taking a deep breath of air, Aiden bowed deeply and said in a deep voice, "Greetings, reverend."

"Guest, you are troubled in your mind?" The old monk had a warm and compassionate voice.

Pursing his lips, Aiden asked, "Reverend, may I ask if there's any hope of recovery with my destroyed core and ruined Martial Master?"

"I don't know."

There was a long silence in the grand hall before those three words were uttered.

The old monk's voice continued, "Throughout history, there had never been anyone who could continue cultivating with a destroyed core."

When he heard that, Aiden smiled bitterly.

Was he still going to lose to fate at the end of the day?

Suddenly, the old monk steered the conversation in another direction. "However, nothing is absolute. You might be able to tide through this tribulation, guest."

"Hmm?"

Aiden's expression changed – the old monk seemed to be implying something.

The old monk said, "If you enter the grand hall, you might be able to find some answers, Guest."

Aiden raised his brow. Although he was puzzled, he still stepped foot into the grand hall.

Candles lit up one after another on both sides of the grand hall.

Aiden peered over the old monk and his gaze landed on the walls on the opposite end of the grand hall.

Shuddering, his eyes lit up with a sparkle that was brighter than stars!

There was a saying on the wall.

"To become one of the greatest, you have to work on the foundation and be willing to take hardship and serve others!"

The sentence was etched clearly into the walls, curved with a majestic aura!

One could instantly feel the arrival of an impressive and superior aura just by glancing at those words, sending shivers down their spines!

Aiden smiled.

Instantly, it seemed as though a peerlessly beautiful woman with an indifferent expression had appeared before him. Dressed in a blood-red long dress, she stood there looking at him silently.

The sight of those words was akin to looking at her.

There was only a single person who could have written those bold words!

Aiden remembered every single word that his Master, Number 13 said to him eight years ago before she left.

"If you want to continue with the original and the demonic martial powers, you will experience a lot of unimaginable sufferings. But you must bear in mind that these sufferings will only make you stronger."

"There is a saying in the past, with the Dragonification technique of the Ancient One that I would like to give you as parting words, 'to become one of the greatest, you have to work on the foundation and be willing to take hardship and serve others!"

Right now, that statement was etched right before Aiden's eyes!

The moment he saw those words, he felt an irresistible sense of nostalgia surging within him.

Unknowingly, so much time has passed.

Back in Higrove, Number 13 subjected him to endless training and there were even times when his life was hanging on a thread.

However, Number 13 had never let him go through any grievances!

When Joyful Sect martial artists hunted him relentlessly with their advantage in numbers and martial power realm, Number 13 annihilated Joyful Sect!

Given Number 13's character, if she knew that Glass Palace sent a Quasi Divine Beings to kill Aiden, it would be normal for her to hunt down Glass Palace singlehandedly!

The little fox tilted her head at the sight with a lost expression.