Shun Long could feel that the triangular-shaped stone was releasing a suppressive aura outside his body but his consciousness was all sucked inside the triangular-shaped stone.
This time he hadn't arrived in the space where he practiced his 'Monarch's Hourglass' but had instead been sucked inside a pitch-black space without the slightest trace of light.
Shun Long couldn't see anything around him when a dignified voice that came from inside the darkness asked him
''What do you want?''
Shun Long was puzzled as the voice asked him again
''Do you want power?''
Shun Long didn't know if it was the triangular-shaped stone that was asking him or if it was someone else, but because the stone had directly merged with his soul, he had always felt as if the stone was part of him so he replied
''Are you the little stone?''
The voice repeated the question
''Do you want power?''
Shun Long nodded his head as he answered truthfully
''Yes''
''How much power?'' The voice asked him again
Shun Long then thought for a bit before replying
''Enough to beat Heaven grade experts at least''
For the first time, the voice from the darkness showed some emotion as it laughed and said
''Heaven grade experts? Then what will you do if you meet someone at an even higher level than a Heaven grade expert?''
Shun Long hadn't thought that the voice would ask him such a question and for the first time, he didn't have an answer in his mind.
The voice then asked him
''What is your goal?''
Shun Long thought deep and hard for a long time
''What is my goal...?''
Slowly Shun Long replied
''I want to be free.''
''What else?'' the voice asked
''I want to control my own fate.''
''What else'' the voice repeated
Shun Long didn't know what to answer as the voice spoke again
''Search deep inside you. What do you really want?''
''I want to live more.
I want to experience everything in this world.
I don't want to be constrained by others.
I want to stand at the top of this world.
I want to become the strongest person.
I want to be the one in control.''
Desires poured out of Shun Long's heart while his voice grew louder and louder as he kept listing more and more things. Desires were easy to suppress if you kept them in the dark, but hard to control if you showed them even the tiniest bit of light.
''Hahahahahahaha! YES that's it! Desire more, ask for more. Use your own hands master. You are allowed to stand at the peak of this world this time, as the owner of the 'Stone of Time'.''
''Master?'' Shun Long asked questioningly
The voice grew weaker and weaker
''....I will follow you no matter what, as you are my master''
In the end, the voice was almost inaudible as the darkness slowly receded. It all condensed at the center of this space into a pitch-black egg.
This egg was at the size of a human and although it was pitch-black, there were various ancient symbols on top of it, as it emanated a berserk and powerful aura.
Now that the darkness had receded, Shun Long could see the space around him. It was 30 square meters big and the only thing on this space aside from the black egg was the soil on the ground.
When the darkness was condensed into the pitch-black egg, the aura that burst out from Shun Long's body had startled the entire 'floating cloud sect', before it returned back inside his body.
Be it the 'outer city' or the 'inner city', from the weakest outer disciples to the Elders, everyone was alarmed by this burst of powerful aura as they fell to their knees, all of them unable to breathe.
In the depths of the 'inner city' inside a restricted area, there was a luxurious mansion. A man who seemed to be in his early forties was sitting on his bed when he had sensed the burst of aura from the 'Treasure Pavilion' as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
His eyes looked towards the location of the pavilion in the 'outer city' and after that horrifying aura was retracted back to its source the man stood up.
''Could it be that some powerful senior has arrived in my 'outer city'?'' The man mumbled to himself
This man was the strongest person in the entire 'floating cloud sect', the sect master Liu Jian.
After sensing this aura he issued a summons to the Elders of the sect, ordering all of them to convene at the 'inner city's' main hall.
Shun Long's consciousness had been returned to his body before he had time to explore the newfound space in the triangular-shaped stone. However, he clearly remembered that the voice in the darkness had called the little stone 'Stone of Time' as well as Shun Long its master.
Before Shun Long had time to ponder over things, heavy breathing could be heard from the entire 'Treasure Pavilion' as people could finally breathe again.