Aksai held the talisman between his fingers.
“Everyone,” he announced, “I have discovered the true properties of this talisman.” He paused for effect, letting the attention of the room settle on him.
“The talisman indeed has healing capabilities but comes with a bit of twist. This talisman causes rapid cellular regeneration, but it doesn’t stop after the wounds are healed. It continues, leading to cancerous growths and tumors.”
Gasps and murmurs filled the room. The other cultivators exchanged worried glances, clearly disturbed by the revelation.
Aksai pointed at the old hooded man, a sly smile playing on his lips. “I’ll still buy the talisman, but the bid amount will be halved.”
Aksai had liked the healing talisman despite its sinister properties. He just didn’t want to buy it for his use anymore. Instead, this talisman could be weaponized against his enemies.
The reason he revealed the talisman’s properties was so that people would get wary of the old man, not wanting to buy from him. It would allow Aksai to buy the talisman for cheaper. Although he didn’t lack the spirit stones, he didn’t think he should pay the full price when the seller wasn’t honest about his product.
The hooded man started laughing, his voice echoing eerily around the room. “Jejejeje,” he laughed like a ghost and demon, before slowly removing his hood. His wrinkled face, sunken cheeks, and old eyes gave him a ghastly appearance. He had barely any teeth left, and his skin was leathery and pale.
“Brat, you are good,” the old man said, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light. “Not only did you manage to identify the hidden properties of the talisman, but you can also see its potential.” He looked at Aksai as if he had found a rare treasure.
The old man knew that a regular Spirit cultivator wouldn’t have been able to decode the true properties of his vicious healing-type talisman even if they studied it for hours on end.
However, Aksai had decided the properties of the talisman within a minute, indicating that Aksai’s attainments in talisman had reached the level of a skillful master. This made him come across as a talisman prodigy.
It was as if the old man had given the talisman to Aksai hoping he would find its hidden properties. It was as if the identification of the talisman was some kind of test that Aksai had cleared.
Aksai could read the old man’s body language to some extent. He remained calm, though his mind raced. “There’s indeed something wrong with this old man,” he thought to himself. “He didn’t come here just to sell the talisman.”
The other participants in the exchange meeting gasped when they saw the old man’s face. Some of them stood up in shock, fear evident in their eyes. Even Calla Wei, the host of the private exchange meeting, wore a stressed expression.
Aksai turned to Calla Wei. “Who is this old devil?”
Calla Wei took a deep breath before answering. “He is a well-known demonic cultivator named Mao Yahui. He has killed countless people from the Big Five Sects. His cultivation base is at the late-stage of the Foundation Building realm, making him a powerhouse among all the Foundation Building Experts.”
Calla continued, her voice tense.
“Mao Yahui is already more than 200 years old,” Calla began. “It is said he was once a promising disciple of the Azure Sky Sect but was expelled for practicing forbidden arts. He turned to demonic cultivation and has been a thorn in the side of the righteous sects ever since.
Recently, he’s been involved in several high-profile assassinations. It is said that he was severely injured by one of the elders of the Purple River Sect three months ago. He… he should have died a month ago. I… I don’t know how he survived this long after suffering an injury to his cultivation base.”
The room fell silent, the weight of Calla’s words sinking in. Aksai could feel the tension rising. The other cultivators were visibly unnerved, some shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
Mao Yahui’s gaze never left Aksai. “You have talent, boy,” he said, his voice dripping with malevolence. “I, the Darkshade Mao Yahui, am looking for a capable disciple to pass on my demonic arts to. I’m about to croak, but I don’t want my lifetime’s efforts and experiences to die with me. Jejejeje. What do you say, brat? Want to become my disciple?”
Aksai’s eyes narrowed behind his mask. “I’m not interested in accepting any master,” he said, then smiled. “However, if you want me to accept your inheritance with no strings attached, I can agree.”
Aksai was indeed interested in Mao’s heritage. His approach to crafting talismans was completely different from traditional practices. The one talisman he had shown to Aksai was enough for him to make that conjecture.
In Aksai’s hands, this demonic talisman heritage could be developed to its peak. His neural link fabric would allow him to fuse all kinds of approaches to bypass the known and unknown hurdles in the making of these strange talismans.
That being said, Aksai never wanted to be someone’s disciple, especially because he knew that being accepted as a disciple would involve a Dao Oath to his master. Why would he agree to commit to a Dao Oath and accept a demonic cultivator as his master?
Even if Mao was on the verge of death, Aksai didn’t want the old devil’s problems and aspirations to become his. He wasn’t interested in fighting the war that the righteous and demonic factions often indulged in.
‘Accepting this dying old man as a master? What a joke. I would have considered it if it was some drop-dead gorgeous woman with a killer figure. But this skeleton? Hell no,’ Aksai thought to himself as he looked at Mao as if he was looking at a drug addict beggar who hadn’t taken a bath for weeks.
Mao Yahui chuckled. “Jejejeje. You want to get your hands on my inheritance without becoming my disciple? You sly little devil. You are even more greedy than some of the most heinous demonic cultivators I have met. Do you think there’s such a thing as ‘free food’ in this world? Jejejeje.”
Mao then turned his attention back to the rest of the room. His eyes landed on Calla before he spoke in his hoarse voice.
“Lass, tell your guests that as long as they don’t get in my way, I will not attack them. This matter is between me and this brat. If anyone dares to help him, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”