Complete silence.
Absolute deterrence.
Just as Aksai expected, nobody present in Calla’s villa wanted to risk growing tumors near their most intimate places.
Sounds of unhurried footsteps breaking the silence in the next moment.
The spectators watched as Aksai leisurely took his leave from Calla’s villa before disappearing in an unknown direction.
Only after he was gone did the spectators breathe a sigh of relief.
There were many reasons why Aksai was allowed to walk away from the mess despite being one of the reasons it happened in the first place. Firstly, he had Mao’s inheritance in his hands. Just the 20 deviant healing-type talismans he had taken out from Mao’s storage ring was enough of a deterrence.
Then there was a way with which Aksai fought. Thanks to his martial arts and Argent Realm body cultivation, his moves weren’t like a regular Spirit cultivator.
The Spirit farmer was much more tyrannical and dangerous up close than he was at a distance using his Spirit spells on his enemies. He had even fought on equal grounds against Mao, whose battle power was well known in the Big Five Sects and all five of the kingdoms present in Dadangar subcontinent.
As such, all the participants realized that one couldn’t just suppress Aksai with a brute force alone. They could win against Aksai if all of them worked together. However, there was a chance a few of them would die. Who was willing to die here after all of them had come here just to attend a casual private exchange meeting?
Thirdly and most importantly, Aksai had access to a weird and unexplainable power that let him finish off Mao quickly and effortlessly. What would the participants do if he were to use that power on them to get rid of them? Nobody wanted to see the limits of Aksai’s bloodline ability by participating in a suicidal experiment.
As Aksai disappeared into the shadows, the tension in Calla’s villa lingered, heavy and oppressive. One of the righteous faction cultivators, a tall man with a stern expression, approached Calla and asked, “madam Calla, what do you intend to do now?”
The demonic cultivators, who had earlier demanded Mao’s inheritance, also looked tense. They exchanged wary glances, clearly uneasy about the potential repercussions of their earlier objections against Aksai.
Calla cleared her throat, her eyes narrowing in the direction where Aksai had vanished. “Don’t worry, I will take care of him,” she said in a cold voice.
“That man…. He is dangerous. Someone who shouldn’t have gotten Mao’s inheritance is roaming free in this world. It would cause great trouble if we were to let him do what he wanted.
I’ll contact my sect right away and explain the situation. I’m sure the Big Five Sects don’t want to see another Darkshade, his so-called ‘half-disciple’ rising through the ranks and causing more trouble for them in the future.
Not only this, I will personally go and assist the sect force to ensure that the man who has just threatened all of us won’t be able to threaten anyone ever again.”
Determination and resolution hardened her features, a cold glint sparking in her eyes. Aksai’s words had pierced her pride like needles, inducing a deep-seated inferiority complex she hadn’t acknowledged before.
It had been long since Calla had actually fought someone. The times of peace in a prosperous city had taken off the edge she used to have in her prime.
She was indeed paralyzed by fear of Mao, but Aksai’s blunt exposure of that fear stung worse than the fear itself. A junior like Aksai had dared to highlight her moment of weakness, a fact she neither wanted to know nor listen to.
‘Dismissed by a junior,’ she thought bitterly to herself. ‘Insulted in front of my peers. I’ll not let you off the hook this easily brat.’
She decided then and there to personally involve herself in bringing Aksai to justice. A Purple River Sect elder getting insulted by a junior was unheard of, and despite being a former elder, her image and pride demanded retribution.
However, the pride of a Foundation Building Expert wasn’t the only reason why Calla decided to rise to the occasion and help prevent the so-called spread of the evil seed. There were more tangible benefits involved.
Who was Mao Yahui? A demonic powerhouse in his own right who had almost made the Core Formation Lords take actions against him.
Calla was confident that the sect would reward her for her major contribution in apprehending Mao’s inheritor and confiscating the demonic inheritance from a rogue cultivator with no background. These reasons fueled her resolve to take action against Aksai.
Calla’s confidence in confronting Aksai came from the fact that she had seen Aksai use his bloodline ability on Mao. no matter how she looked at it, that technique was just too groundbreaking and seemingly logic-defying.
As a veteran Spirit cultivator who had a strong sect background, Calla knew that the techniques that looked strong also had strong repercussions that their users had to bear. She was sure that Aksai wouldn’t be able to make use of the technique so casually again in a short span after he had used it on Mao.
Can a regular human break the laws of equivalent exchange that presided over the boundless cosmos?
***
After bidding farewell to her guests and officially canceling the half-complete private exchange meeting, Calla took out a communication talisman.
“Elder Mizo,” she murmured into the talisman, her voice steady but cold. “This is Calla Wei. We have a situation. A rogue cultivator has inherited Mao Yahui’s demonic techniques. I think he’ll try to leave Cavereach City soon. I require immediate assistance to apprehend him.”
Elder Mizo was an active elder from Purple River Sect. He was also a member of the Cavereach City’s council and one of the key decision-makers for the city’s security policies.
Although Calla might have to share some of her benefits with Mizo, she was sure that he would be able to move a large force and get rid of Aksai just fine. Paying a little extra to get what she wanted while ensuring her security was what Calla wanted anyway.
As such, Calla relayed the details of the incident, emphasizing the threat Aksai posed.
Once the message was sent, Calla smiled devilishly.
She had been insulted, yes, but she would turn that insult into an opportunity.
The stage was set, and the hunt for Aksai was about to begin.