‘I… I broke through?’
Aksai was surprised at himself after achieving the Argent Body Realm.
He could feel the qi in his body becoming heavier and more robust. Even his injured body seemed full of vitality.
Aksai took advantage of the moment. He didn’t attack the druid right away. Instead, he used this temporary relief to catch his breath and assess the situation. He planned his next move carefully.
‘He… he is also a martial artist?’ the corrupted druid thought, shocked. He realized that Aksai had used the previous fight as a whetstone to achieve a breakthrough into the 2nd body cultivation realm, turning it into an opportunity.
Now an Argent Body martial artist, Aksai posed a genuine threat to the corrupted druid. ‘I… I need to treat him as a threat,’ the corrupted druid thought and decided to act immediately.
“He’s up to something,” Aksai murmured, observing the corrupted druid from a distance. He could tell the way his opponent looked at him had changed after achieving the Argent Body Realm.
Aksai watched as the corrupted druid produced an ancient-looking book out of thin air. A blood-red demon root sprouted from the ground and attached itself to the druid’s back as he started reciting strange verses in a cryptic language.
“Hahaha,” the druid laughed viciously, looking at Aksai with fake pity. “So what if you’ve achieved a breakthrough into the body cultivation realm? I can still get rid of you, no matter what tricks you have up your sleeves,” he said before biting his index finger. He started writing something in the book.
[Abnormal status detected. The user’s life force is being tampered with externally.]
[The user’s life force is being extracted, resulting in an exponential reduction in lifespan.]
[Previously estimated lifespan remaining: 115 years]
[Newly estimated lifespan remaining: 95 years]
[Abnormal status detected.]
[Newly estimated lifespan remaining: 75 years]
[Abnormal status detected.]
[Newly estimated lifespan remaining: 55 years]
The corrupted druid had started to curse Aksai from a distance using the treasure he held. Even though Aksai had achieved a breakthrough into the Argent Body realm, it had no effect on increasing his lifespan. After all, it wasn’t the Spirit cultivation path he had succeeded in.
One had to note that the druid was unable to fully utilize the book he held because of the backlash he was experiencing. It would have been game over if the corrupted druid had started cursing Aksai without being hindered by the backlash.
“This damn druid. He’s putting some kind of curse on me,” Aksai’s expression turned ugly as he read the spectral notifications only he could see.
“Aaaah!” Aksai cried out and charged at the corrupted druid. At the same time, he tapped into his natal storage and brought out all the Scarecrow puppets he had.
“Screee!”
The demon tree guardians also charged towards Aksai. One of them engaged with a small group of the Scarecrow puppets while another reached Aksai and started attacking him.
Some of Aksai’s Scarecrow puppets were sent towards the corrupted druid with a single mission: prevent the druid from completing his curse on Aksai.
“Hahaha,” the corrupted druid laughed as he saw the Scarecrow puppets approaching him. “Do you think these bugs are enough to stop me from cursing you?” he asked while wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his free hand.
Compared to the Scarecrow Fiends, these Scarecrow puppets weren’t as strong. The corrupted druid felt no threat from them.
Aksai fought with desperation as he saw his lifespan slipping away before his eyes. Panic was evident in his gaze.
The Scarecrow puppets continued their approach, undeterred by being impaled by demon roots or pulled off their feet by demon vines.
“Nobody can stop me from cursing you to your death now,” the corrupted druid said, preparing to face a pair of Scarecrow puppets that had managed to dodge every trap and come within striking distance.
This pair of Scarecrow Puppets was none other than Lian Lakir and his personal guard and partner, Nesha. As they approached, Lian Lakir’s body was suddenly impaled by a demon root jutting out from beneath the ground.
“You… you expect these low-level puppets to hurt me? Laughable,” the corrupted druid sneered as Nesha was ensnared by demon vines just three meters away from him. With one hand holding the curse book, the corrupted druid stepped forward and grabbed Nesha’s neck.
“These puppets are really peculiar, though,” he said, examining Nesha closely. “I would love to study them once I kill you,” he said to Aksai casually. All the while, the curse on Aksai remained active.
“Who said I… I was counting on these puppets to get rid of you? I… I only wanted them to give you a gift,” Aksai said, smiling wickedly as he saw the corrupted druid grabbing Nesha’s neck.
“Hm? What do you—” the corrupted druid began to question Aksai. However, before he could finish, he noticed something abnormal about Nesha. Someone had dissected her puppet body and implanted something within her ribcage.
“This… this can’t be. A soul-based artifact,” the corrupted druid muttered, fear creeping into his voice. He released Nesha’s neck and took several steps back.
Right at this moment…
Swoosh. Zoom. Kinn!
The runic soul lamp embedded within Nesha’s chest, like a second heart, activated at this critical moment. She had essentially served as a delivery person to bring the lamp within range of the corrupted druid.
This was the same runic lamp that Aksai had obtained from the Blood Bakshi cultivators he had killed alongside Lian Lakir some years back. In his desperation, Aksai decided to use this special-grade trump card he had been saving for many years.
The runic soul lamp had a unique ability. It wouldn’t cause physical harm but would exert soul-based damage to anyone other than its owner standing within its range at the time of activation.
Aksai triggered the runic soul lamp before the corrupted druid had a chance to retreat. In the next moment, the runic soul lamp embedded within Nesha started to glow brightly. It burned so intensely that it lit up Nesha’s form before its blood-red light spread all around her.
“Aaaaaargh!” The corrupted druid fell to his knees when exposed to the light from the runic soul lamp. Already severely injured by the earlier backlash on both physical and spiritual levels, he had no defense against the soul-based attack from the runic lamp.
As soon as the corrupted druid’s soul was attacked, the demon tree guardians fighting Aksai suddenly stopped moving as if they had lost all will to fight.
But that wasn’t all. The tree devils also stopped moving, and the demon roots and demon vines became lifeless, bringing them to a standstill.
Aksai seized this small window of opportunity. With no obstacles in his way, he moved like lightning and reached the corrupted druid.
“Aaaargh!” the corrupted druid cried out in agony as he clutched his head. He looked truly pathetic as he raised his head from his kneeling position and watched Aksai appear in front of him.
Swoosh. Zoom. Slash.
Aksai wasted no time in cutting down the corrupted druid’s head. With this, the Devil’s Den calamity on Serenity Peak was officially over.
===
AN: Aksai gets his hands on Blood Soul Lamp in chapter 58.