The Shamrock plateau sprawled expansively, its terrain cascading in descending layers.
The estate perched atop Shamrock Peak proved to be an ideal site for Spirit farming.
In fact, the entire Zenith Ridge region offered fertile ground for cultivation. Many grids of land lay untended, awaiting human presence.
Aksai could certainly harness the labor of hundreds of rental Spirit farmers, overseeing them as a local lord.
By delegating responsibilities to direct subordinates, he could extend his reach to thousands of underlings, thus cultivating the entirety of Zenith Ridge.
Although Aksai had declined any direct involvement in the island’s affairs, aside from offering his share of the annual yield, Nuya desired his success as a Spirit farm owner.
She hoped he would generate ample cultivation resources for trade with the mainland, yielding substantial profits.
Running an island presented myriad challenges.
From short-term tasks to long-range projects, each demanded financial and human resource investment.
As one of Emerald Cove’s principal proprietors, Nuya had to envision grander schemes and devise comprehensive plans for the future.
One could say that Nuya had her own personal reasons for assisting Aksai. However, that didn’t diminish the usefulness of the help she provided him. In fact, he appreciated all that she had done for him.
Aksai had already promised Nuya that he would supply her with additional batches of cultivation resources she could sell to the mainland. He would earn profits, and a portion would be offered to Nuya as well as to the island’s administration as a whole. A win-win situation for all of them.
So it was only natural that she would go to extra lengths to help Aksai in return.
“Let them come here,” Nuya commanded before turning to continue her conversation with Aksai. While the two island owners were engrossed in discussion, a group of Spirit cultivators approached them.
Aksai and Nuya had yet to acknowledge this group of Spirit cultivators when one among them practically screamed upon seeing Aksai.
“Aksai Everwood! It’s you! You… you didn’t die?” the shock and disbelief evident on their face.
“Hm? How rude,” Nuya frowned as she turned to look at the Spirit cultivator woman who was at the peak of the Spirit Refining mid-state realm, the 6th stage realm.
It was clear that Nuya was displeased. Since she had asked these Spirit cultivators to serve under Aksai, she naturally felt responsible for maintaining discipline among them.
How could she allow anyone to disrespect Aksai when he held the same status as the island owner of Emerald Cove?
Nuya raised her hand, Spirit essence swirling around it and turning into frost. Her powers as a Spirit Refining Perfectionist were on full display. No ordinary Spirit Refiner, even in their late stages, could dare to stand against her.
Nuya only aimed to teach a lesson to the Spirit cultivator woman who had spoken about Aksai so rudely.
However, to the Spirit Refiners in the lower and middle stages, her icy presence made them shudder in fear. They immediately started distancing themselves from the woman, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire and losing their lives.
“Aaaah,” the woman, who appeared to be in middle age by mortal standards, dropped to her knees and pleaded for forgiveness.
“Island owner, I… I am sorry. I… I didn’t know. I thought I saw someone from my past. Please forgive me,” she pleaded as she touched her forehead to the ground in complete submission.
“Hmph! I will only accept your apology after punishing you,” Nuya said coldly, the ice-element Spirit essence revolving around her entire body like a spectral storm.
“Please hold on, fellow cultivator Nuya,” Aksai intervened, grabbing Nuya’s hand to stop her from casting the ice-element Spirit spell.
As soon as he touched Nuya’s hand, a layer of ice started forming around Aksai’s skin from exposure to her potent Spirit essence. However, with his body cultivation, this level of ice formation posed no threat to Aksai. He simply channeled his qi through his arms, instantly dispelling the ice formations.
“Didn’t you hear what she said?” Nuya asked, looking at Aksai intently. “She must be one of Kaelen’s residual forces,” she added, casting a cold glance at the middle-aged woman.
“No,” Aksai shook his head and sighed, looking at the middle-aged woman.
“When she expressed her surprise at my survival, she wasn’t referring to the recent conflict we had with Kaelen’s forces. Rather, she was talking about certain events around 12 years ago,” he explained calmly.
“Hm?” Nuya was surprised.
She finally stopped scrutinizing the middle-aged cultivator woman as she listened to Aksai’s explanation. “Do you mean you know her?” she asked curiously.
“Indeed,” Aksai confirmed with a wry smile before turning his gaze back to the middle-aged woman. “Jasmine, long time no see,” he greeted her warmly.
Different from what she was 12 years ago, Jasmine’s appearance at this point bore the marks of time’s passage.
Her once lustrous hair now displayed streaks of gray, interwoven with fading strands of its former color.
Wrinkles etched lines around her eyes. The skin that once glowed with youthful radiance now showed signs of losing its suppleness. It seemed that was forced to use some forbidden techniques a couple of times in her life as well.
Despite this, Jasmine still looked like a fit woman who could do her daily chores without any effort. The period of 12 years wasn’t enough to make her that old.
Upon hearing Aksai’s voice, Jasmine couldn’t help but raise her head. For a few seconds, she was awestruck by how young he looked compared to her. It seemed as though he hadn’t aged at all in the last 12 years, or perhaps had even become more youthful while retaining the maturity of a wise man.
“Aksai… It… it is indeed you. I… I thought I was seeing things.”
Jasmine said, her expression complicated, her eyes a bit moist for some reason.
She could never have imagined that the man she had once rejected for marriage on the Lakir estate would one day come to own a Spirit Vein island in the Dadangar archipelago.
Nor could she have foreseen that she would one day seek employment as one of the Spirit farmers under his command.
‘What would my life have been like if I had said yes to marrying him back then?’ Jasmine couldn’t help but ask herself.