Naisha took a deep breath and began to chant mantras softly, her hands moving gracefully as she formed a few intricate mudras.
‘Hmm. This…. This feels different than the last time. It lacks a showbiz vibe.
Aksai watched with growing curiosity as Naisha’s aura changed, becoming more focused and intense. She was clearly doing something genuine and not for a usual customer.
She drew a set of cards from a worn deck and placed them in a pattern on the table. The cards were marked with strange symbols and mystic glyphs that Aksai couldn’t fully comprehend. Naisha then closed her eyes and began to chant a bit louder. The air around them seemed to shimmer with a strange form of Spirit essence.
Aksai could feel the shift in the atmosphere and sensed that Naisha was using her life force as fuel to trigger a mysterious technique. His sensitivity to life force due to his druid powers made it clear to him that she was sacrificing something precious.
‘Hmm? Is she using her lifespan to activate this technique? This… This looks like it would backfire on her.’
He was about to stop her when the process was completed, turning Naisha’s eyes completely white. She stayed in this state briefly but only she could tell how much time she spent watching Aksai’s future and what she gained from it.
In the next moment, Naisha’s face turned red as she delved deeper into the divination. Her eyes became bloodshot, and blood trickled from the corner of her lips. She looked at Aksai with an expression of horror and realization.
“Big brother, you are not a Spirit Refining cultivator, are you?” she asked in a feeble voice. But before Aksai could answer her question, she passed out, her face about to hit the counter between them.
Aksai quickly supported Naisha from her shoulder and prevented her face from hitting the counter. He held her wrist and closed his eyes, assessing her condition. “It seems she has lost a decade of her life by performing this strange technique,” Aksai’s face turned serious.
“Considering there are many strange cultivation techniques in Dadangar, it’s not completely impossible to do what she did. I guess she was telling the truth when she said she was practicing a divination technique,” he concluded and sighed.
He looked around to make sure that nobody was paying attention to them. He then used his druid powers to replenish Naisha’s lost life force, making the loss of 10 years of her lifespan recover within a few breaths. He could replenish his own lifespan using the demon tree anyway, so he didn’t mind restoring Naisha’s lost life force.
“This young girl is full of surprises. I wonder who taught her such a life-threatening technique.”
Aksai then took out a healing pill from his storage ring and placed it inside Naisha’s mouth. He made her sit straight and lifted her face by her chin, helping her gulp down the pill unconsciously.
Since the girl had lost her lifespan because of him, Aksai thought it was only natural for him to replenish it. He also wanted to see what the girl saw in his future, if anything at all, intrigued by the possibilities.
The pill’s effects kicked in, and Naisha slowly opened her eyes. Aksai took out a small cloth from his storage ring and wiped away the blood stains coating the corners of her lips as she regained consciousness.
“Wake up, kid. You are all good now. Spill out what you saw,” Aksai said, looking at the now-conscious Naisha with a smile.
“Big… Big brother Aksai,” Naisha was about to say something when she remembered what she had seen in her vision– what she had realized about him– his personal details.
She immediately stopped speaking, got up from her position, and bowed in front of Aksai. “For… forgive me for my insolence. I… I couldn’t recognize you,” Naisha spoke with fear and trepidation.
Aksai understood what Naisha was saying and smiled again. He realized that she was now aware of his real cultivation base, recognizing him as a Foundation Building Expert. She was naturally hesitant to deal with Aksai after learning that the man in front of her was a Foundation Building Expert in disguise.
“Haha. Don’t worry, Naisha. I just want to know what you saw,” Aksai said gently, hoping to ease her fear. “But before that, you need to tell me about your cultivation technique a bit. You shouldn’t have expended 10 years of your life to see someone’s future, you know. Even 25,000 Spirit stones wouldn’t be enough to compensate for that loss.”
Naisha shook her head and replied, “Expert…” She hesitated, about to ask Aksai’s real name, but Aksai smiled and said, “Don’t worry, kid. You can call me Big Brother like usual. Now, take a seat and act naturally. Tell me everything.”
Naisha felt uneasy referring to Aksai casually because of the obvious difference in their cultivation bases. However, she didn’t dare to argue and nodded, taking her seat.
She realized that Aksai was trying to keep his identity a secret. As such, she didn’t dare to reveal it and tried her best to act casually.
“Big… big brother Aksai, actually, I didn’t want to use 10 years of my lifespan to look into your future. I had decided that I would only spend about 7 to 10 days of lifespan to give you a hint about your future. However, you…” Naisha looked around and lowered her voice.
“You didn’t tell me about your real cultivation base. I didn’t know I was using my technique on a Foundation Building Expert. Because of the difference between our cultivation bases, I faced a serious Spirit essence deviation. The backlash of that technique caused me to lose 10 years in an instant. Things would have been even worse if I hadn’t ended the technique quickly.”
“So it’s like this,” Aksai said, smiling awkwardly as he scratched under his left ear. “Sorry for your troubles then. However, in my defense, I already replenished your lost lifespan. Can you not feel it?”
Naisha was surprised. She closed her eyes and channeled her Spirit essence according to her technique. She was shocked to realize that Aksai had indeed replenished her lost lifespan, which was considered extremely difficult and expensive by her knowledge.
“Thank you, big brother,” Naisha said, looking at Aksai with gratitude. Her chances of becoming a Foundation Building Expert would have reduced significantly if she had really lost a decade of her lifespan. Especially when she had just begun her journey as a Spirit cultivator.
“Alright. That answers why you did what you did,” Aksai said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Now tell me what you saw regarding my future. I hope this divination technique offers at least some insights, otherwise, I’d have to advise you to stop practicing such a dangerous technique.”