Chapter 2779 - 2773: Flesh Is Frail

An Jiao forcefully clutched his chest, then looked at the severely atrophied muscles and some meridians. He gave a bitter smile and said, "I’ve known for a long time that my days are numbered. Lately, I’ve been fainting more often."

"And each time before I faint, there’s a special sign, like a pain in my heart. But now I faint without any warning, each time just blacking out without feeling anything, and then I know nothing."

"By the time I wake up, I realize my body is experiencing pain in multiple organs, even my heart aches with each beat," An Jiao looked down at his chest, the area around his heart had lost all its color, and even the muscles had withered.

The heart inside was also unable to properly supply blood to An Jiao’s body, so each time An Jiao was left feeling weak and exhausted, his body deteriorating day by day. Earlier, while running, although his left leg felt strong, the heart’s blood supply was still insufficient.

Unable to sustain such intense exercise, even though his crippled left leg had recovered.

Suddenly, An Jiao lifted his head to look at his father, calmly saying, "Father, if my body continues to deteriorate like this, my life is likely only to last a few more months at most..."

An Tian was not surprised at all, just slightly stunned, then gently sighed and said, "I understand... I actually knew long ago, but I will not let you die just like this."

"These days I’ve been traveling around, looking for the Primordial Treasures. Recently, I have received news about this secret treasure. The Primordial Treasures contain the Holy Spirit Fruit, reputed to heal all ailments, not only able to heal severe wounds."

"Even as long as a person has one breath left, it can bring them back, and it can completely erase all injuries and diseases. I have inquired from many sources and obtained the exact location and opening time of the Primordial Treasures."

"The Primordial Treasures will open in three months, you must hold on, and by then I will definitely bring back the Holy Spirit Fruit. I do not want to say anything too sentimental, I am very aware of your physical condition,"

An Tian, who was sitting on a chair, suddenly turned to look at the extremely weak An Jiao, his gaze incredibly determined:

"I only hope you can hold on, endure the pain no matter how bitter or painful, even if you faint from the pain, you must persist. You must believe in me, I will definitely bring back the Holy Spirit Fruit!"

An Jiao looked at his father’s gradually aging face, his father, who used to be extremely firm and cold, was now also so old, with many white hairs appearing at his temples.

Having always focused all his energy on the research of the Arcane Array, An Jiao had never realized that his father, who always cared for him, who never abandoned him whether before or now, had also gotten so old.

Upon hearing his father’s promise and conviction, An Jiao also wanted to say something encouraging to lift his father’s spirits, likewise to encourage himself, but An Jiao truly knew his body’s limit.

Three months might be brief ninety days to an ordinary person, but to An Jiao, whose many organs were failing, whose meridians were nearly disabled, and whose heart’s blood supply was severely insufficient, those ninety days were a torturous ordeal.

These short ninety days seemed both long and short to An Jiao. Long because An Jiao’s body was already nearly completely deteriorated, these ninety days felt extremely lengthy to him, forcing him to endure immense pain each day.

Moreover, he was well aware of his life’s deadline, this dual torture was undoubtedly a tremendous blow to An Jiao.

Yet, these ninety days were incredibly short for An Jiao, a young man barely over two hundred years old by the calculation methods of the Clan of Darkness, a young man in his prime, yet he was facing the tragic fate of having only ninety days of life left.

This remaining three months of life was a huge blow to a young man with talent and some innovative findings in Array, who could potentially achieve great success in the future, yet now he knew his body was nearly completely withered, and his lifespan maybe only less than three months, undoubtedly this timeframe felt extremely brief to An Jiao.

An Tian first came to his son’s bedside with a passive expression, then held An Jiao’s shoulder, trying to force a smile:

"Never entertain such thoughts, in any dire situation, you must hold onto the hope of survival. I know you are struggling hard and suffering greatly, but please hold on, I will definitely bring back the Holy Spirit Fruit,"

"Don’t you want to become a researcher of the Arcane Arts? Don’t you want to go further on the path of Arcane Arts? Then you must live because only by living can this all be possible,"

"Losing dignity, wealth, status, they don’t matter, but losing the hope of living really means all is over, so you must hold on, definitely hold on until I return, okay?"

"From childhood to adulthood, I’ve never forced you to do anything, but today I ask you for one thing, okay?"

"I ask you to hold on through these three months no matter what because only by holding on can you wait for the day I bring back the Holy Spirit Fruit, once you have the Holy Spirit Fruit, you will be reborn, remember, you will have a new life,"

"Your future path is still long, your future life will be dozens and hundreds of times longer than these three months, so you must hold on for these three months, during which the Reaper will come again and again to try to take your life,"

"But I ask you never to lose, you must not lose to the Reaper, not a single step! I want you to promise me, even if I plead you, promise me, Jiao, promise me you can definitely hold on for these three months."

An Jiao looked at his father’s firm face and beseeching eyes, after a long silence he finally nodded and said, "I promise you, father, no matter how painful and difficult the attacks of illness will be, I will not compromise with the sickness!"

"I will fight the Reaper to the end! I will definitely persist until the day you return, I believe you can do it,"

"To be honest, I really do not want to die, my research has just shown promise, I don’t want to fall here now, I don’t want to die just like this, I believe as long as I can persist, I will definitely come up with results, I will make everyone take notice!"

An Jiao’s voice, though weak, was filled with conviction.

An Tian looked at his son’s promise and finally nodded with satisfaction, though he feared his son’s body continuing to deteriorate, what terrifies this father more is his son losing all his fighting spirit, yielding to the illness, which An Tian most does not want to see.

But now he was truly glad, he feared seeing his son’s will being crushed by the body’s illness, but hearing his son’s firm belief and promise relieved An Tian greatly.

An Tian gently patted his son’s head and softly smiled, "Then I am reassured, in the next three months I must prepare for the competition for the Primordial Treasures, so I will find it hard to stay by your side,"

"I may have to travel far, returning only in three months, so while I am away you must take care of yourself, I’ve prepared the food, your research is important, but nothing is more important than your health,"

"So you must rest, don’t overwork yourself, in this way these three months will quickly pass..."

An Jiao nodded, then continued to lie down to rest.

The next morning, when An Jiao slowly awoke, he already found his father had departed, leaving only some food on the table. Since they had already discussed everything yesterday, An Tian left directly without leaving any note.