2405 Twilight
In the blink of an eye, Su Zimo crossed 100 feet and heard the fourth drumbeat.
This time round, he did not release any divine powers or secret skills to defend.
That was because he knew that the Dharmic Dao contained in the sound of the Twilight Drum had already surpassed all his strength. It was useless even if he defended.
Su Zimo could clearly sense his lifespan draining.
40,000 years passed in the blink of an eye.
After walking 400 feet, he had already lost an entire 100,000 years of his lifespan!
It was a mysterious sensation.
Su Zimo controlled a divine power of time, Fleeting Moment.
He had once used that supreme divine power to kill a Grade 9 Heaven Immortal and witnessed the latter's lifespan dissipate instantly.
However, he had never experienced the feeling of his own lifespan disappearing instantly on his body.
The sound of the Twilight Drum reverberated through the hall. Su Zimo carefully comprehended the Dao and Dharmic arts contained in the depths of the drumbeat and felt the cruelty of the passing of one's lifespan as the sound of the Twilight Drum descended.
The reason why Su Zimo chose to continue forward was not out of greed.
It was because he wanted to make use of the sound of the Twilight Drum to continue perfecting his Fleeting Moment.
If possible, he wanted to push Fleeting Moment to its limits and break through any barriers there were to reach another peak!
Of course, that action was accompanied by immense danger.
If Su Zimo could not comprehend the Dharmic Dao in the sound of the Twilight Drum, he would never be able to recover the lifespan he lost.
However, all opportunities in the world were accompanied by danger.
The most direct way to comprehend the sound of the Twilight Drum was to test it out personally!
Only through enduring the baptism of the sound of the Twilight Drum could he experience the profoundness of the Dharmic Dao within and comprehend it.
"He wants to comprehend the Dharmic Dao of the Twilight Drum?"
Lang Qianqian seemed to have realized Su Zimo's intentions and frowned.
"Fufu…"
Ying Tian chuckled. "He must be dreaming if he thinks that he can comprehend the Dharmic Dao of the Twilight Drum with just ten drumbeats! Furthermore, he won't be able to hear all ten drumbeats before his lifespan depletes completely."
"That might be the only way to break out of the situation."
Lin Luo was enlightened.
The test left behind by Immortal Emperor Dawn Twilight for the sound of the Twilight Drum was not for everyone to advance with brute force. Instead, they had to comprehend and inherit the Dharmic Dao of his Twilight Drum before they could break out of the situation and obtain the Supreme Pure Purple Cloud Talisman!
Ying Tian, Lang Qianqian and Golden Feather naturally thought of this as well.
However, even though they knew that the sound of the Twilight Drum was a test left behind by Immortal Emperor Dawn Twilight, the four of them did not have the courage to continue forward.
It was way too risky!
Who was confident that they could comprehend the mysterious obscurities of the Twilight Drum within the ten drumbeats?
Right then, the fourth drumbeat dissipated completely and returned to silence.
Taking a deep breath of air, Su Zimo continued forward.
Dong!
The fifth drumbeat sounded.
50,000 years of lifespan was lost!
Su Zimo had only walked half the distance and he had already lost an entire 150,000 years of lifespan.
It was almost the same scene as Nie Hun earlier on.
To Ying Tian and the others, Su Zimo seemed to be repeating the path Nie Hun had taken—even the outcome would be identical.
The sound of the drum reverberated for a moment before calming down.
Su Zimo's eyes were closed and his heart was free of distractions. He focused his attention and carefully comprehended the Dharmic Dao contained in the sound of the Twilight Drum, sensing the subtle changes that happened to his body in that instant.
Before long, Su Zimo opened his eyes and continued forward with a resolute gaze!
Dong!
The sixth drumbeat sounded.
60,000 years of lifespan was lost.
Su Zimo's body trembled slightly. He had already lost an entire 210,000 years of lifespan by the time he arrived here!
By the time Nie Hun reached this point, he had already turned into an old man with white hair and was at the end of his road.
As for Su Zimo, although he looked more aged, his black hair fell like a waterfall and his face was rosy. He was filled with blood qi and was clearly still at his peak age.
Nie Hun started at 80,000 years old, but Su Zimo was less than 10,000 years old.
Even now, his age was less than 220,000 years old and he was still at the peak of the Heaven Immortal realm!
"He's very young."
With a single thought, Golden Feather deduced Su Zimo's original age.
"The fact that he managed to cultivate to this point in less than 10,000 years is truly impressive."
Lang Qianqian said, "Unfortunately, his current age is no longer considered an advantage. Even if he stops now, the chances of him cultivating to the Perfected Immortal realm in the future are not high."
"Fellow Daoist, it's not too late to stop now!"
With a worried expression, Lin Luo looked at Su Zimo's back view and suddenly reminded, "If you take another step forward and the seventh drumbeat sounds, you'll…"
"Hahaha!"
Ying Tian burst into laughter and interrupted Lin Luo, mocking, "Not bad, not bad! Su Zimo, if you're afraid and wish to retreat, hurry on back! Don't be reckless."
It was clear that Ying Tian's words were meant to agitate Su Zimo.
If the seventh drumbeat sounded, Su Zimo would lose 70,000 years of his lifespan. At that time, he would also enter his twilight years and everything would be too late!
Lin Luo glared at him and hollered, "Ying Tian, you're way too vicious!"
Ying Tian pouted and sneered, "This is his own choice. What has it got to do with me? I didn't force him."
"Furthermore, he already came this far. Naturally, he has to strengthen his beliefs and continue forward to finish with what he started."
Right then, Su Zimo opened his eyes and continued forward.
Dong!
The seventh drumbeat sounded.
A shocking change happened to Su Zimo's body as he aged rapidly. His face was filled with wrinkles and his hair was as white as snow. His flesh and blood were withered and he exuded the aura of twilight, turning old.
Heaven Immortals had a lifespan of 300,000 years and Su Zimo was almost 290,000 years old!
"Fellow Daoist!"
When Lin Luo saw that, she exclaimed softly with a hint of pity in her eyes.
"Hahahaha!"
Ying Tian burst into laughter and was delighted.
This person had just joined forces with Lin Luo and caused him and Lang Qianqian to suffer a slight loss—how could he not be happy that Su Zimo was now in such a state?
The moment Su Zimo died, Ying Tian could naturally lay claim on his possessions.
It would be even more perfect if he could find the Heaven and Earth Slaying Sword Arts from Su Zimo's corpse.
"I see…"
Su Zimo stood on the spot motionlessly. Although his face was old, his eyes were extremely clear and shone brightly as he murmured softly.
He had only just begun comprehending the sound of the Twilight Drum. Although he had some insights, he could not comprehend the true meaning behind it.
It was only now that he was enlightened.
Only in one's twilight years could one truly experience the Dharmic Dao of the Twilight Drum and experience the cruelty of old age!
Actually, this was another test from Immortal Emperor Dawn Twilight.
Although Nie Hun also managed to arrive at this point in his twilight years, he was already on the brink of a mental breakdown at that time. Even his Dao Heart was shaken—there was no way he could comprehend the Dharmic Dao calmly.
Nie Hun's Dao Heart collapsed and he was basically gambling, dying after his lifespan was exhausted.
The reason why Su Zimo could remain so calm at this point was partly because his Dao Heart was strong. His actions this time round were meant to comprehend the Dharmic Dao of the sound of the Twilight Drum.
Another reason was because he had once experienced these twilight years.
This was a familiar state to him.
Back in the Dao Inheritance Ground of Tianhuang Mainland, when he established the Martial Dao, he almost exhausted his lifespan before succeeding.
Therefore, even at the end of his lifespan, he could still maintain his composure and calmness, comprehending the true meaning of the Dharmic Dao of Twilight.
