Hours passed as Aksai worked tirelessly, his concentration unbroken.
He ignored the passage of time, driven by an insatiable curiosity and a relentless pursuit.
Aksai harvested many mutated organs from the bodies of the tree devils.
He stored them in jars filled with special liquids and arranged them neatly on a shelf. He sealed the lids of these jars with talismans and wrote specific findings on each of them.
Aksai then got rid of the useless biowaste using a simple fire-element spell. The laboratory was cleaned with a flick of his fingers.
Aksai then used a wind-element Spirit spell to get rid of the putrid air, making his lab smell like a garden or a rose with the concoction he had released in the air.
Aksai liked keeping things clean. His clean laboratory was the perfect representation of his serene and steady state of mind even after performing various gory experiments.
Finally, as the last samples were collected and the dissection complete, Aksai stepped back to survey his work.
The clean and empty runic platforms shimmered with residual energy as if declaring their desire to host a new set of subjects. Aksai stopped the Array Formation and decided to take a break from the current round of experiments.
“The generic samples of the tree devils are only lesser forms of mutation. Plus, this mutation contains some sort of bloodline shackles,” Aksai thought to himself as he started to step out of the underground facility.
“If I extract the genetic samples from the tree devils that contain these bloodline shackles, I’m afraid I will become subservient to the demon tree that controls the tree devils.
But the demon tree itself is being controlled by that druid who sits under it. I need to get the genetic sample of that corrupted druid. Only then can I avoid subjecting myself to the bloodline shackles,” Aksai concluded.
There were various forms of tabulated data strings in Aksai’s vision as he murmured a few things to himself. Multiple Spectral Screens were arranged right in front of Aksai, displaying the results of his experiments on the fresh lot of guinea pigs.
Aksai studied the data he had gathered, his mind racing with possibilities. Though the task had been arduous, he knew it was only the beginning. There was still much to learn, and he was determined to uncover the truth, no matter the cost.
Aksai did not stop only at one round of experiments.
In the following days, Aksai sent out a group of palace guards on a mission to capture more tree devils from the periphery of the danger zones.
He asked them to look for food in the danger zones as well, just to make them feel that they were doing these expeditions to ensure their own survival, as well as that of their families.
Aksai knew that even if he had decided to help the citizens of Serenity Peak for his own benefit, he didn’t need to be honest about all of his intentions. People with a fixed sense of morals wouldn’t be able to rationalize everything.
Aksai also didn’t wish for them to become like him. One Aksai was enough per world. It served in his as well as others’ best interests to lie to the masses and keep some things hidden from them. This way, they would get to keep their sanity while he progressed further in his path.
After all, most people were narrow-minded and selfish. They believed that putting their lives on the line to eradicate the problem for everyone else was a noble cause, but preferred that this noble cause be carried out by others while they enjoyed the fruits of the martyrs’ labors.
People’s survival needed to be put at stake for them to take valiant actions in the face of crisis. As such, Aksai didn’t immediately replenish his constantly dwindling food supplies to create a certain sense of panic among the shelter dwellers in the Everwood palace.
Due to Everwood Palace deploying a group of palace guards on expeditions into the danger zones every few days, the other forces active in the safe zones took note of their actions. They soon found out that Aksai’s subordinates had started to hoard the food supplies.
The martial artists didn’t mind that Aksai’s subordinates caught the tree devils; if anything, they preferred it, as it meant fewer tree devils to contend with. However, they were concerned when they discovered that all the food supplies were being taken.
Soon, many martial arts schools began following the pattern Aksai had set. They started sending people into the periphery of the danger zones to gather all the food supplies they could find. It was as if a silent competition had begun among various groups forced to congregate in Serenity Peak’s suburban zones.
Even though he didn’t show it, Aksai didn’t care about the food supplies at all. He had access to Cultivation World Dadangar, after all.
Why would he risk his or his subordinates’ lives to obtain food supplies when he could easily acquire them by visiting his home world?
Plus, buying mortal food was easy and affordable for Aksai. He could supply food for everyone in Everwood Palace practically forever. So the grim aspect of the Devil’s Den existing for the next three years really didn’t bother him.
As such, Aksai didn’t pressure his palace guards. He simply instructed them to ensure they captured enough tree devils and brought along some supplies. The attempt to scrounge for food was only a facade, meant to cover his true intentions of obtaining more tree devils as subjects for his experiments.
Therefore, Aksai’s palace guards never had to risk their lives to search for food and other essentials. They followed Aksai’s orders and made sure to bring him many tree devils as potential test subjects for his subsequent experiments.
During this time, Aksai remained within Everwood Palace. He kept himself occupied with experimenting on the tree devils brought to him by his subordinates each day.
He then analyzed the results of these experiments, enabling him to gain a deeper understanding of the tree devils and the calamity they brought.
The experiments also enabled Aksai to fine-tune his primer liquid.
He wasn’t sure what kind of entity he would become after using a corrupted druid’s genetic code as a foundation for his Spirit bloodline.
However, he was certain that the results would be unprecedented and unique, potentially unlike anything achieved by anyone in the past.