The Last Primal

Aiden put away the storage bags of Lian Hen and the others.

Although Cain Khoren and the others were Martial Masters before their death, they were now dead and their bodies were weak.

Conjuring a demon fire from his fingertip, Aiden burned all five corpses into ashes in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace behind.

After settling that, Aiden returned to the now quiet and calm manor.

He wanted to make his breakthrough in this courtyard.

Opportunities were required for breakthroughs of major martial realms.

It was a mysterious feeling in one's mental state, similar to adrenaline rush.

At that moment, if Aiden were to take a long journey back to Azure Myst Sect, he could very likely lose out on the timing of that precious opportunity.

Furthermore, he truly could not think of a more meaningful place than here to conduct his breakthrough.

Forming a core was no small feat and one must not be disturbed at all.

Not daring to be careless, Aiden started setting up a formation.

Without resting at all, he set up multiple formations around his residence; not only were there support formations, there were even illusion, trap, and killing formations!

One after another, the formations were interlinked.

Three hours later, the formations were fully set up.

"Activate!"

Aiden shouted softly and a bedazzling luminescence lit up around the vicinity of the residence as countless mysterious formation patterns surfaced.

An illusion formation was set up at the outermost perimeter.

It created an illusory residence that seemed no different from before on the outside and would not attract any attention.

However, in reality, there were runes concentrated within the illusion formation that shone bright as day within!

Arriving beneath the most iconic piece of scenery, the lonesome peach blossom tree, Aiden assumed a meditative position and closed his eyes to rest.

He had worked tirelessly for the past day not just to travel, to fight, to save Madam Dara but to also to set up such a huge formation and had expended a lot of energy as well.

Aiden had to adjust himself to his best condition.

A long time later, he gradually stabilized himself and gradually regained the piece of clarity and tranquil serenity of his mind.

Thanks to the inheritance of him being the last surviving Primal, and the knowledge he had learned so far, as well as his Ancient Dragon bloodline he had infused with already, his body was like a large vessel, a sponge that soaked in energy.

*Boom!*

Massive waves surged within his inner core's spiritual sea. Golden light shone everywhere as his spirit energy surged into the air.

Endless spirit energy entered Aiden's body continuously, thanks to his unique physique.

Bright golden luminescence appeared and flickered around his body, akin like as if the Gods themselves blessed him at this very moment and surged relentlessly before converging into his inner core's spirit sea.

The spirit sea was akin to a bottomless pit, sucking the incoming spirit energy relentlessly and forming a gigantic vortex with a terrifying might that spun and shrank non-stop!

Core formation was the most important divergent point in one's martial path.

Be it the so-called 'righteous' or the fiendish martial art, they had to cross this gap!

From Martial Practitioner to Martial Knight and finally to Martial Master, martial artists undergo the process of training their energy, liquefying it, and eventually condensing it into a core.

From gas to liquid and finally solid, every single transformation was a leap in quality.

From that, it could be seen that the foundation of the Martial Master was still spirit energy. However, it was merely built from a continuous and gradual transformation.

Almost all the martial artists understood what the process was like.

It was a never-ending process of extraction, condensation, and compression. Along with time, one could turn the initial spirit energy into a solid Martial Master and complete the transformation.

However, throughout history, there were many martial artists and yet, less than one in ten thousand are able to form a core.

What was the reason for that?

Why were there still people failing despite the ease and clarity of the entire process?

It was a simple logic to understand – the rise in quality of spirit energy along with one's martial would naturally lead to an increase in strength.

However, why was one's lifespan extended for hundreds of years after a core was formed?

In reality, the reason for that was the true secret behind core formation – to understand life!

If one wanted to form a core, they had to understand the true meaning behind the Dao of a core. That was the only way for them to break free from the constraints of heaven and earth and extend their lifespans!

The reason for the extension in lifespan was because of a new level of deep understanding.

The wisdom that elders of the Martial Path often speak of refers to the comprehension of one's own enlightenment, allowing one to transcend life and death, turning into a saintly, semi-divine being. It was a sort of comprehension at a new level and referred to supreme wisdom.

What was the truth behind the Martial Master?

There were two sides to everything.

It was the same for life.

A still rock wasn't alive and neither was a running river.

The most primal and natural state of life was only manifested through a combination of stillness and movement.

The existence of life was activity.

Motions are a way of representing life while stillness was a method for nourishing life.

In truth, the formation of a Martial Master was a process born out of nothing by instilling stillness into motion.

To begin with, spiritual energy did not exist within one's body. However, after years of training for a strain of spirit energy to appear, it could then gradually grow stronger and turn into a liquid form which could course through the eight meridians with firm strength.

Eventually, it would flow into the sea and return to the inner core, forming a silent and still Martial Master.

Things would happen naturally and logically.

At that moment, life would undergo an unprecedented change in quality. By interweaving motion and stillness to condense a Martial Master and nourish life, one's lifespan could be extended.

To begin with, life was something that was produced out of nothing.

Eventually, it would enter an eternal slumber after its vibrancy.

Producing something out of nothing, entering stillness after motion – that was an interpretation of life.

In truth, the formation of a core was the understanding of one of life's obscurities and as such, gaining an extension in lifespan.

That was the true meaning of core formation!

Once one creates his core and becomes a true Martial Master, one's lifespan will not be decided by nature!

That was the most famous fact of core formation and also hinted at its true essence.

For Martial Knight martial artists, the chances of them condensing an Inner Core was more than 80% as long as they managed to reach the later stages of their realm.

Even so, there were still people who failed.

They did not fail in core formation, but in the comprehension of the true meaning behind core formation.

Throughout history, generations and generations of seniors and predecessors passed down their personal experiences of breaking through to the Martial Master realm.

However, this was something that was highly personal and unique to everyone. It couldn't be explained clearly – even if one knew what was going on, it was useless.

The only way for them to transcend mortality and break out of their mold was through personal comprehension!

As time passed by, Aiden's aura turned increasingly terrifying as his black hair swayed gently without any wind.

His lifespan was extending endlessly!

Two hundred years…

Three hundred years…

Five hundred years!

Aiden's understanding of core formation had not only affected himself; subconsciously, another life in the courtyard was affected!

Behind him, the peach blossom tree was shrouded by an invisible power and it grew. Its trunk grew thicker and its branches extended.

One after another, pink buds blossomed in the blink of an eye.

The petals scattered around Aiden's vicinity.

Instantly, the petals that scattered grew into new flowers and the entire process was mysterious, akin to a dream.

The peach blossom tree swayed gently.

If Aiden were to open his eyes right now, he would be able to sense that the peach blossom tree was exuding an emotion of joy!

It had gained sentience!

Waves raged fiercely within the spirit sea of the inner core, shining with a divine radiance.

The two starkly different techniques he had known so far were in constant conflict within the inner core.

Like fire and water, two starkly different energies were clashing within the inner core as well.

The situation that Aiden was in right now was rather unique.

He managed the first step of understanding the true essence of core formation and extended his lifespan. However, due to the fact that there were two starkly different energies clashing, his Martial Master was yet to be formed!

A situation as such was rarely seen throughout history and one would have to undergo immense danger.

If anything untoward happened during the clash of the two different energies, his inner core would rupture on the spot and his foundation would be entirely destroyed.

Right now, fire and water was interweaving constantly within his body.