“What do you mean?” Aksai frowned, trying to process her words.
Yelia took a deep breath before explaining.
“I’m sure you know this, but let me remind you anyway. This Demon Tree acts as a conduit for the corrupted druid’s cultivation technique. It allowed him to use people’s negative emotions as fuel to further his cultivation.
When the people trapped inside the Devil’s Den felt anger, helplessness, and despair, the corrupted druid harvested those emotions with the Demon Tree’s help. The Devil’s Den was a necessary isolation barrier, designed to cultivate those emotions.
It not only added to the trapped people’s misery but also helped the corrupted druid amass negative emotions and use them to refine his Spirit essence more easily. Every component in that incident was aimed at helping the corrupted druid achieve his breakthrough into the Foundation Building realm.
The cultivation technique he used was unique and tailored specifically for him. It’s a higher-tier technique that you wouldn’t be able to find in the Dadangar subcontinent, no matter where you look.
I know you wanted to use the Demon Tree to refine your bloodline, but in doing so, you overlooked the fact that the Demon Tree is only a part of a larger puzzle—the intent-based cultivation technique. You’ve picked and chosen parts of the corrupted druid’s technique while ignoring the rest. This… this is dangerous,” Yelia said in a serious tone.
Aksai frowned as he listened to Yelia’s explanation. He knew she was right—he had indeed ignored some parts of the corrupted druid’s technique.
But his decision to do so wasn’t because he was completely against the idea of harvesting people’s negative emotions to improve his cultivation base. No, the truth was more complex.
The technique the corrupted druid practiced was dark and intricate, laden with risks that Aksai wasn’t willing to take, especially while still in the Dadangar subcontinent. He knew that dabbling in such dangerous methods could lead to unpredictable consequences, ones he wasn’t prepared to handle.
No matter how clever he was and no matter how heaven-defying the Everwood Farm’s abilities were, he knew that he was not invincible. As soon as a Core Formation Lord takes notice of him because of some discrepancy, it would be like inviting trouble with open arms.
As such, Aksai chose the safest methods from the corrupted druid’s legacy. He nitpicked and refined the information using the neural link fabric, making it suitable for his use. After testing the effects of the technique on a few Sentient Scarecrows who weren’t completely dead or alive, Aksai was sure that his life would not be in danger.
Thus, he decided to take the safest route. Even if he knew that he needed to take some risks in order to advance sometimes, he knew that it wasn’t the right time.
Moreover, there were aspects of the technique that he simply couldn’t understand, no matter how much time he spent studying them.
For instance, sensing the emotions of those trapped inside the Devil’s Den was a key component of the corrupted druid’s method. It allowed him to harness the negative energy generated by their fear, anger, and despair and other sets of negative emotions.
But no matter how hard Aksai tried, he could never replicate that ability. He had cast the Devil’s Den barrier all over Emerald Cove, using it as a protective shield for his territory. But unlike the corrupted druid, he was never able to tap into the emotions of the island’s dwellers.
It was as if that part of the technique was locked away from him, inaccessible despite his best efforts. He felt that he was missing something but didn’t know what it was. It was like solving a math problem and filling four pages to come up with a figure. But in the end, the answer wasn’t right because you forgot to use a special formula in the end.
Aksai also harbored a growing suspicion that the technique he obtained from the corrupted druid wasn’t the same one the druid had practiced. He felt that the corrupted druid’s technique was seriously top tier. However, the one he had obtained from him was likely a shoddy version of it that he might have used in the past before getting his hands on the real deal.
Aksai couldn’t be completely sure of his assumptions. However, the neural link fabric’s deduction capabilities were great. As long as Aksai asked the right question and provided the right kind of foundational knowledge in a subject, the neural link fabric was capable of drawing the likelihood of various possibilities with minimal margin of error.
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed likely that Aksai had only a fragment of the original technique—perhaps a flawed or incomplete version. This discrepancy only deepened his unease, pushing him to focus solely on the part he could understand and use: the bloodline refinement technique.
“I mean… I knew what I was doing,” Aksai finally admitted, his voice heavy with the weight of his choices. He looked at Yelia, his expression serious. “I didn’t ignore the other components out of negligence. I did it because I didn’t want to gamble with forces I couldn’t control.”
Aksai’s heart raced as he listened to Yelia’s words.
He had known the Demon Tree was dangerous, but he hadn’t fully understood the extent of the threat it posed to him.
The thought of his soul being tainted with demonic energy, of potentially becoming a demonic cultivator against his will, sent a chill down his spine.
The idea of having a demon seed inside him, something that could grow and eventually take over his consciousness, was even more terrifying.
Yelia nodded thoughtfully before answering.
“Every action has its own set of pros and cons, lord Aksai. Considering your situation at the time, I think you made the right choices for the most part.
But there’s something you were unaware of. The Demon Tree is designed to harvest the emotions of living creatures trapped within the barrier it creates. Since you didn’t use those emotions as fuel for your cultivation, the Demon Tree was forced to store them.
And now, those emotions have been hibernating inside the tree, festering and being infected with demonic energy.”
Aksai remained silent, allowing Yelia to speak further.
“Without a channel to release them, the tree has started inadvertently affecting you by injecting that demonic energy into your soul. It’s not doing this consciously—it would never actively try to harm you because of the blood contract you signed with it.
However, if your soul continues to be exposed to this demonic energy, you will either turn into a demon or develop a demon seed within you. This seed would eventually produce a demonic consciousness, and when it hatches, you’d become a demonic cultivator without even realizing it.
If you manage to tame the demon inside you, you’ll officially embark on the path of successful demonic cultivation. But if you’re unlucky, the demon will feed on your soul, gradually taking over your body and replacing your consciousness.”
Aksai swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the massive trunk of the Demon Tree. He had been fine with the idea of harnessing demonic energy, even with the possibility of becoming a demonic cultivator.
But the risks Yelia described—the potential for a split personality, uncontrollable bursts of anger, and other negative emotions—were more than he had bargained for.
‘I don’t mind being a demonic cultivator. However, I would never let the demons inside me control my actions and thoughts. Cultivating a demon seed inside without knowing nothing about it is certainly not the best way to approach this path.’
Aksai took a deep breath to steady himself, then asked the question that weighed heavily on his mind. “What do I need to do to stop it, then?”
“Stopping this problem is simple,” Yelia said casually, as if reading his thoughts. “I just need to expel the negative emotions that the Demon Tree has been accumulating all this time. Once that’s done, you’ll be out of danger.”
Relief flooded through Aksai as he watched Yelia approach the Demon Tree. She moved with a calm confidence, her hand reaching out to rest against the rough bark of the tree’s trunk. Closing her eyes, she seemed to focus deeply.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the Demon Tree began to tremble, a low rumble emanating from deep within its roots. The ground beneath Aksai’s feet quivered slightly, and he took an involuntary step back.
The tree shook more violently, its massive branches swaying as if caught in a storm.
Yelia’s hand remained steady on the trunk, her eyes still closed, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Suddenly, the tree gave a great shudder, and a dense, black mist began to seep out from its bark.
The mist coalesced into a swirling vortex, gathering in front of Yelia as she channeled it with a series of complex gestures.
Her hands moved with precision, weaving intricate patterns in the air as she extracted the corrupted energy from the tree.