Chapter 280 The Final Stretch (2/2)

Yet after half a week, deep within the mountain, he unexpectedly came upon another cavern He took a brief look inside this ti, he blocked and sealed the tunnel

Then, he moved back to the valley and renewed his assault on the mountain in another place

He kept this up for over a ainst the mountains that he only interrupted for rest whenever his body would truly go noa dozen deep wounds in the mountainside, and twice more he encountered caverns hidden far beneath the h by now, he was beginning to suspect that beneath the mountains lay a vast network of caves and tunnels

He was curious to see where the tunnels led — if they led anywhere at all — but he suppressed his desire to venture beneath the mountains and find out for hi, he would not let himself be distracted

Finally, well over a ainst the h

Perhaps there were ains to be had if he continued for another few months, but there was only so much time a man could assault mountains before he started to doubt his own sanity

Not to ly worried that an entirethat would be troublesoth of his body

More iht not have completely perfected his control yet, he was confident that he was ready for the final step —Fire and Shadow Essence

Before he set to work on that last task, however, he first spent a full week resting After the self-inflicted ordeal, both his mind and his body were in desperate need of recovery

When the exhaustion froh mountains had worn off, he prepared hi deep into hisexactly how the Sixth Valley's Patriarch had effortlessly ed the Essence within his body

Only when he was certain there wasn't a single detail he'd forgotten or ignored did he move on, finally ready to accomplish the task that had taken hiathered Fire and Shadow Essence in equal ah nearly a year of constant training to coy

Then, he randfather had shown him, and…

He blinked in surprise when he realized he'd succeeded on his very first try He had expected the task would still take hi upon his htest bit of effort

His body now held a dense cloud of Essence that was neither Shadow nor Fire, but at the same time held qualities of both And this Shadowfire Essence was entirely stable, as if he had drawn it from its own Realm

Yet even before his surprise could turn to joy, he made a discovery that made him want to scream in frustration

The Shadowfire Essence was different enough from Fire and Shadow Essence that the foundation he had built in both was all but useless Which meant that to control it properly, he would have to start his training anew

For three days he sat in the valley with gloo a boundless sense of frustration now that he understood that he would oncethe Forms, this time with Shadowfire Essence

But then, he wearily stood up, and forced hi else rong, he'd finally be done with this infernal task