Cavereach City.
Aksai appeared in a commercial district, far away from the residential district meant for the Foundation Building Experts. This time, he resumed the appearance of his altered identity, Ruan Lei.
He took a leisurely stroll on the road while thinking to himself. ‘I don’t think that old hag Calla will let me go that easily. She will try to bite me as soon as I try to leave the city,’ Aksai caressed his chin, remembering how Calla had been eyeing him.
‘I… I need a distraction that can allow me to leave this city and finally approach the mainland. But first, I need a safe place to check out what that magnanimous Mao left for me.’
Aksai concluded as he walked towards a local inn to find a room for the night.
***
Hour of Shadow Dragon (10:00 PM – 11:00 PM)
Aksai occupied a simple inn room meant for a regular Spirit Refining Perfectionist. He completed his nightly cultivation and let out a turbid air, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
He decided to get himself to his prime condition before leaving the city. Though he had acted tough in front of all the spectators present in Calla’s villa, only he knew how difficult it was to pull it off.
He would have surely run into bigger troubles if the spectators had decided to act altogether instead of worrying about their personal safety. Plus, for some reason, Aksai didn’t think that he was in the right set of minds ever since he fought with Mao. it was as if someone had turned on a switch in him that made him angry at everything, irritated by minor inconveniences.
It was not that Aksai had never made use of foul language before. He also didn’t think that there was anything wrong with venting out your feelings of frustrations verbally on people who deserved to hear them.
However, the calm and practical side of him still thought that the way he had behaved in front of Calla was quite unlike him. It was as if someone or something had influenced his decisions and emotions.
‘Did… Did Mao do anything to me before his death?’ Aksai thought to himself as he recalled his fight with him. After much pondering and using his Spirit Sense to scan his body, he didn’t think that there was anything wrong with him at the moment.
Under normal circumstances, he would have retreated back to Everwood farm if this was any other city. But he didn’t think this was the right time or place to do so. There were too many loopholes. Plus, he couldn’t go back to his safe zone without making sure if there was anything wrong with him or not. He didn’t want to lead someone else to his biggest secret after all.
“No point in second-guessing my own actions. No matter how hard the past is, you can always begin again,” Aksai said and calmed himself. He then looked at his temporary accommodation.
The room was sparsely furnished with a small bed, a wooden table, and a single chair. The dim lighting created an atmosphere of quiet solitude, perfect for his current task.
He sat at the table and took out Mao’s storage ring, examining it intently. “Time to check its contents thoroughly,” he muttered to himself before channeling his Spirit Sense into the ring. In a moment, an assortment of items appeared in front of him.
Old scrolls, yellowed with age, lay in one pile. Beast skins of various creatures, some preserved better than others, were neatly stacked next to the scrolls.
There were bones, clearly from 2nd-order demon beasts, their essence long gone but their potential still valuable. Among these were various types of 1st-order and a few 2nd-order weapons and artifacts. Swords, daggers, amulets with various buffs, and rings with instant Spirit spell slots glinted in the dim light.
However, what captured Aksai’s attention the most were the ten wooden boxes. Each box was half an arm’s length in size, six inches wide, and ten inches in height. They were intricately carved with runes and symbols, sealed tightly to preserve their contents.
He reached for the nearest box, feeling the smooth, cool wood under his fingertips.
“These must contain Mao’s talismans,” he thought, his excitement barely contained.
He carefully opened the first box, revealing a stack of talismans, each one meticulously crafted. He then opened the rest of the boxes one by one and found them to contain ten different talisman variants. The talismans were of various types, their surfaces covered with complex runes and symbols.
Aksai picked one up and examined it closely. The craftsmanship was exquisite, the runes pulsing with a faint Spirit energy. He recognized some of the patterns as demonic in nature, but most of the talismanic patterns were strange, almost like complete gibberish.
“Heretic Talismanic Dao,” Aksai read the inscription written under one of the wooden boxes and roughly understood what his half-master practiced. This was some sort of niche school of talismans that Mao had either developed on his own or inherited from some enigmatic figure like him.
One by one, he opened the remaining boxes, revealing more talismans of different types and purposes. Some were designed for offensive use yet emitted a gentle vibe from the outside. Others were defensive, their energy more stable but no less potent. They appeared to be nothing more than support-type talismans.
A few were utility talismans, with runes for concealment, speed, and other practical applications. The way they applied different principles of Essence Equations to achieve the desired results was truly something Aksai had never seen before.
Aksai set the talisman boxes aside and picked up a jade slip, his curiosity piqued. He sent his Spirit Sense inside the slip and immediately felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information stored within. As he began to sift through the data, a smile formed on his lips. “So this is that old demon’s legacy,” he murmured to himself.
The jade slip contained extensive knowledge about the Heretic Talismanic Dao. It sought to explore and challenge the established principles of traditional talisman-making. Using the information in the jade slip and the talismans stored inside the boxes, Aksai started to piece together Mao’s twisted approach to talismanic arts.
One of the first concepts he encountered was the inversion of traditional talisman functions. The deviant healing-type talisman that Mao had showcased at the private exchange meeting was a prime example.
It was designed to use the principles of healing to inflict harm, causing uncontrolled cell regeneration that led to cancerous growths.
Another talisman described in the jade slip was a fire talisman that, instead of producing conventional flames, emitted a cold fire that drained the life force of its target rather than burning them. The flames appeared icy blue and consumed the target’s Spirit essence at an alarming rate, making it a terrifying weapon against Spirit cultivators.
He found a defensive talisman that created a barrier not of solid energy but of a corrosive mist. Anyone attempting to breach the barrier would find their weapons and even their flesh dissolving upon contact.
The flesh, blood, and bones of the targets would then be used to refine the corrosive properties of the mist, leveling it up even further. The mist was designed to be both a shield and a deterrent, turning any attack into a self-inflicted wound.
There were utility talismans that stretched the boundaries of conventional use as well. One talisman allowed the user to phase through solid objects, not by making the user intangible, but by temporarily converting the matter into an ethereal state. This effect, however, had to be carefully timed, as any miscalculation could result in partial phasing, causing severe injuries.
Aksai’s interest was further piqued by a concealment talisman that didn’t just hide the user from sight but created false images and misleading trails. It used Spirit essence and Spirit Sense to generate illusions that could fool even the most sensitive Spirit senses, making it nearly impossible to track the user.
The jade slip also contained information about a teleportation talisman that didn’t simply transport the user from one place to another. Instead, it swapped the positions of the user with an object or person at the target location. This unpredictable approach to movement could create chaos in battle, disorienting opponents and creating opportunities for surprise attacks.
“So this is what the Heretic Talismanic Dao is all about,” Aksai mused, absorbing the unconventional techniques. “It’s not just about breaking the rules. It’s about redefining them.”
He continued to study the jade slip, each discovery deepening his understanding of Mao’s unique approach. Despite the inherently dark nature of the Heretic Talismanic Dao, Aksai couldn’t help but admire the creativity and ingenuity behind it. He knew mastering this knowledge would make him a formidable force, but it also required caution. The power these talismans wielded was as dangerous to the user as it was to their enemies.
“This is quite the haul,” Aksai murmured, his mind racing with the possibilities.
Each talisman represented a different technique, a different application of Spirit essence, and he was eager to study them all.
“Why do I have a feeling that I’ll get to use these beauties soon?” Aksai caressed the wooden boxes filled with talismans as he smiled to himself.