A long time later, Su Zimo stirred awake.
Gradually, his five senses started recovering.
The first thing Su Zimo smelled was a faint scent of books and ink. It was old, emitted from ancient books that had been kept for a long time, but it smelled good.
Thereafter, his vision gradually cleared up.
His surroundings were dark and countless dust specks floated before him. Struggling to sit up, Su Zimo found that two wooden slabs were attached to his right wrist, stabilizing his wounds.
His muscles were still sore and painful.
“Am I not dead?”
Su Zimo looked around.
A series of wooden bookshelves stood all around and each of them were filled with many ancient books.
Most of them were filled with dust and should not have been used for a long time.
On the surface, this looked like an old study that was extremely spacious – there were at least a few thousand ancient books here!
Su Zimo could only feel his head spinning and his consciousness was still fuzzy.
He remembered leaping into the Dragon Burial Valley after being pursued by Dao Being Xuan Yu. However, he couldn’t remember anything thereafter.
Shaking his head, Su Zimo looked around and accidentally caught sight of a bronze square tripod at the side, gradually recalling some things.
The moment he leaped into the Dragon Burial Valley, he initially thought that his death was certain.
However, when he caught sight of the fainted little fox in his embrace, he felt his heart wrench.
That little thing’s fate had been way too tragic.
She lost her mother when she was young and was imprisoned by the Scarlet Armored Gigantic Crocodile for dozens of years. After finally gaining freedom to follow him into the outside world, she was met with such a cruel fate.
Was the little fox going to die just like that without getting a chance to experience the beautiful world outside?
Unable to bear the thought of that, Su Zimo opened his storage bag and withdrew the bronze square tripod with all his might, hiding inside it with the little fox.
The Dragon Burial Valley was known as an unlucky place.
Countless top experts and supreme powerful beings were buried there.
Nobody knew of the dangers within it – the bronze square tripod might be their only shot at survival!
Although he was inside the bronze square tripod, Su Zimo could still sense clearly that he was falling rapidly!
The sound of winds wheezing filled his ears.
An extremely terrifying aura surged outside the bronze square tripod!
An endless amount of power collided against the walls of the tripod repeatedly.
It intensified in a frightening manner!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With each collision, a deafening bang could be heard – the sound was so ferocious that it seemed like the bronze square tripod was about to break into shards!
Su Zimo coiled his body and protected the little fox in his embrace as best as he could.
However, against the tremendous impact, he slammed against the walls of the bronze square tripod left and right. His tendons and bones broke and coupled with the injuries he had already sustained, it felt like his skeleton was about to fall apart!
The terrifying bangs sounded like they could drown everything!
Su Zimo merely felt his ears buzz and his orifices were oozing with blood!
The external power from the Dragon Burial Valley was way too scary!
If not for the protection of the bronze square tripod, Su Zimo and the little fox would have turned into dust instantly without any corpse remaining.
A while later, they were met with an even fiercer impact.
Slamming heavily against the walls of the tripod, finally, Su Zimo could not hold on any longer and fainted entirely.
When he woke up once again, he was already in this spacious study.
“Could there be someone still alive in the depths of this Dragon Burial Valley?”
Su Zimo thought to himself.
Suddenly, he felt as though something was rubbing against his leg.
Su Zimo looked over.
A furry little thing looked at him with large, watery eyes that were equal parts filled with concern and joy.
The little thing was filled fur that was scarlet like flames and seemed like a blanket. Its eyes were bright and shiny like black gemstones – it was the little fox who had fallen into the Dragon Burial Valley with him.
Previously, the little fox was injured by Dao Being Xuan Yu. But now, she looked like she had already recovered.
Su Zimo felt slightly consoled.
“I am fine,”
Su Zimo smiled when he sensed the worry coming from the little fox. “Although my injuries are more serious this time round, I’ll be fine after recuperating for a while.”
As he said that, he tried to stand up. He grabbed the bronze square tripod with one hand, wanting to put it away in his storage bag.
“Hmm?”
Su Zimo’s expression changed slightly.
The bronze square tripod did not budge at all!
Although the bronze square tripod was extremely heavy, Su Zimo was able to lift it effortlessly prior to this!
And yet…
Suddenly, he realized something.
His Golden Core was already destroyed and his Inner Core was already shattered!
His cores were directly broken by someone!
Instinctively, Su Zimo tried circulating his Inner Core and a sharp pain shot through his chest!
“Ugh!”
He grunted deeply and his body wavered as a layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
His Inner Core was dark and dull, covered by a web of frightening tears!
Su Zimo sensed everything carefully and his expression turned even more terrible.
There was already no way to salvage his Inner Core.
The situation was even worse for his Golden Core!
The dantian around his abdomen was empty, like a hollow black hole, without any trace of spirit energy.
Su Zimo took a deep breath and slowly condensed the spirit qi in his surroundings.
He could still sense the existence of spirit qi and was able to absorb it.
However, after the spirit qi entered his dantian, it vanished and could not be retained inside!
Right now, his dantian was like a leaky airbag.
Although water could enter, it could not be retained.
In other words, even if Su Zimo wanted to cultivate once more step by step from the Qi Condensation realm, it would be impossible!
That was also the reason why the cruelest punishment for a cultivator was to cripple their Golden Core.
That was because they wouldn’t even get the chance to cultivate anew!
Su Zimo clenched his teeth and an unyielding look flashed through his eyes as he channeled his bloodline to move the bronze square tripod with all his might.
At the same time, he absorbed spirit qi and made use of the brief moment when it circulated within his body to open his storage bag to put the bronze square tripod away.
That was an extremely simple move.
However, Su Zimo expended an immense amount of effort as he panted heavily, drenched in sweat with a pale expression.
Su Zimo chuckled bitterly.
Up till this point of his cultivation, he had overwhelmed all other cultivators of the same level in an indomitable manner and had even crossed major realms to kill his opponents!
He was known as the number one monster incarnate of history to the major factions!
To think that he would end up in such a state one day.
Although Su Zimo still possessed a tremendous power of bloodline, it was no longer possible if he wanted to fight against true paragons of the Golden Core realm.
There wouldn’t come the day when he would be able to take revenge on Dao Being Xuan Yu.
Is this going to be my fate?!
Su Zimo gripped his fists so fiercely that even his knuckles were turning white!
I’m not willing to accept it! I refuse to accept it! I’m indignant!
I’m going to fight against my fate even if it takes me everything I’ve got!
Even when his sharp fingernails dug into his palm and blood oozed out, Su Zimo did not realize it – there was even a faint demonic blood glint shining from the depths of his eyes!
The little fox squatted beside Su Zimo’s legs and looked up at him worriedly.
Although she could not speak, she could feel the pain and relentlessness in Su Zimo’s heart at the moment.
There was nothing more despairing than the loss of hope.
Suddenly, a chant sounded from outside the door.
“Thus I have heard, to cultivate one’s body with compassion and imbue kindness into Buddha’s wisdom to gain enlightenment. Arriving here, known as the infinite immeasurable world, empowering billions of living beings…”
The voice was pure and flawless, reverberating endlessly and cleansing one’s mind.
Someone was chanting a sutra outside.
