Aksai stood over the lifeless body of the bald elder, his breath steady, his eyes calm.
The fight had been swift, brutal, and efficient—just the way he preferred.
His blood-soaked hands lowered to his sides, the crimson liquid dripping down his fingers in slow, deliberate drops. With a mere thought, his silver Qi flared briefly, vaporizing the blood into a thin mist, leaving his hands pristine once more.
“One down, one more to go,” he muttered to himself.
Aksai had fought tougher battles. His previous encounters with other Foundation Building experts had been a real headache—those Spirit cultivators came prepared.
Talented individuals wielding unique spells, equipped with life-saving talismans, and carrying rare artifacts designed to directly or indirectly counter attacks from Qi-based Martial Arts practitioners like him. It had been an annoying experience, to say the least.
These cultivators knew how to cover their weaknesses, and Aksai had often found that his usual methods didn’t give him the same overwhelming edge. The sharpness of his Martial Arts had felt dulled by their relentless tricks.
But this bald elder? He was a different story.
Sure, the elder had experience. He’d spent decades pretending to be loyal to Haitin’s sect while secretly being a spy for the Eastern Limiya Gate, a righteous faction sect. And yes, he’d pulled out that sneaky array formation to restrict Aksai’s Spirit essence.
But ultimately, the bald elder wasn’t an extraordinary talent. He lacked the true versatility and cunning that made those other battles challenging.
‘Still’, Aksai mused, ‘it’s never smart to underestimate anyone. Especially someone who’s been playing the long game in a major sect for decades.’
The bald elder had deployed a unique array formation to deal with Aksai. If it wasn’t for the fact that Aksai was not completely human, he would have had much harder time dealing with the bald elder and his ally. Who knew if he had some other trick up his sleeve?
That was why he hadn’t wasted any time with a conventional battle. No need to drag things out or test his strength against the elder in a straightforward battle.
Efficiency in killing mattered most now, especially in a place like the Wild Devil Lands. There was always a chance for someone else to step in and ruin the plan.
Aksai had used a simple, effective trick—one pulled directly from the demon lady’s memories. Even he had been surprised by how well it worked.
‘Love’, Aksai thought with a sigh. ‘Whether it’s physical or something deeper, it makes people vulnerable’.
Aksai didn’t need to deal with the last remaining enemy himself. His four Sentient Scarecrow Puppets were already locked in combat with the bald elder’s accomplice, effectively keeping him at bay. He had summoned them at the same time he made a move on the bald elder, preventing the ally from coming to the bald’s elder’s rescue.
The man screamed threats at Aksai, swinging wildly at the puppets with growing frustration. He had watched the bald elder die from the corner of his eye. He was scared. Because of the fear, his attacks were clumsy and desperate, as each puppet deflected or absorbed them, relentlessly pressing their assault.
Aksai barely spared him a glance, his interest piqued only by the methodical way his puppets fought. Armed with a variety of weapons and infused with talismans and artifacts Aksai had collected from previous kills, they were more than a match for the struggling elder. This was the most efficient use of these disposable items—a way to further test and enhance his puppets.
Barely half a minute passed.
The remaining elder’s frustration soon turned into pleading. “You need me, Aksai!” he shouted, panting between attacks. “I know the location of the mysterious opportunity! You won’t find it without me. Spare me, and I’ll tell you!”
Aksai didn’t respond, only watched as the puppets continued their relentless attack, their talismans lighting up the air with small bursts of Spirit energy. The elder’s words didn’t interest him; he’d heard such empty offers before.
When persuasion didn’t work, the man tried to frighten Aksai. “Young Master Haitin won’t let you off if you kill me! You’re digging your own grave!”
That made Aksai chuckle softly. He waved his hand dismissively, gesturing to the puppets to finish up. He knew that in this situation, even a Foundation Building cultivator stood no chance.
The puppets were a few levels below his enemies, true, but they had the advantage of numbers, coordination, and recently added upgrades. Plus, they were made using the bodies of the body cultivators from Martial World Sharang. Their Qi-based Martial Arts, combined with the infused artifacts, were enough to overpower an opponent in a controlled environment like this one.
By the time Aksai approached, the man was severely injured. His once powerful aura was now a flickering remnant of what it had been, his face pale, and blood leaking from numerous cuts on his body. The puppets stopped their attack as Aksai walked up to them, their slightly rigid frames shifting aside to make way for him.
The elder’s eyes, filled with panic, darted between the puppets and Aksai. “Forgive… forgive me,” he gasped, struggling for breath, his voice hoarse. “We… we were wrong. We shouldn’t have attacked you. Spare me… please. I can tell you Eastern Limiya Gate’s core secrets! I can make you rich! If you just–”
Before he could finish, Aksai swung his sword with a clean, efficient motion. The elder’s head rolled off his shoulders, and his body crumpled to the ground. Blood splattered onto Aksai’s boots, but he barely noticed.
“Do you really think you’re important enough to know your sect’s core secrets? You are nothing but a disposable pawn in their eyes. So just get disposed of,” Aksai murmured quietly, shaking his head. He swung his sword again, flicking the blood from its blade, then sheathed it with a calm, practiced motion.
His puppets stood silently around him, awaiting their next command. Aksai turned away from the lifeless body, walking back towards Lini. There was still much to do, and wasting time on desperate men like this was not part of his plan.
Aksai had no interest in his enemy’s last-ditch offer. Wealth was the least of his concerns; after all, he owned Emerald Cove, a place rich with cultivation resources that generated a steady income year after year. The idea of striking it rich by sparing a dying man’s life didn’t appeal to him in the slightest.
As for learning Eastern Limiya Gate’s core secrets, it wasn’t something that piqued his interest either. The affairs of one of the Big Five Sects weren’t his problem—they never had been, and he intended to keep it that way.
And the so-called mysterious opportunity? Aksai smirked as he looked at the fallen body. He didn’t need to keep his enemies alive to uncover its location. With his unique methods, he could scan their memories even after their deaths.
As soon as the last elder breathed his last, the isolation-type array formation that had trapped them within the battle zone flickered and disappeared.
Aksai’s Spirit Sense swept across the area, quickly locating the Array Disk responsible for powering the formation. Before moving to retrieve it, he turned to his puppets, giving them clear instructions.
“Keep an eye on her and clean up this place,” Aksai ordered, glancing at Lini. She stood a short distance away, her face unreadable but clearly unsettled by everything that had unfolded.
A few of his puppets immediately moved to surround Lini, ensuring she wouldn’t make any sudden moves or try to flee. The others began tidying up the battlefield with a cold efficiency that was almost unsettling in its precision.
One puppet approached the bald elder’s corpse, bent down, and with a smooth chop, severed the head cleanly. Holding the head by the ear—since there was no hair to grip—the puppet moved on to the other elder’s body, lifting his severed head as well.
Another puppet took care of the headless corpses, moving without hesitation. It incinerated the remains, ensuring that no trace of the bodies or their blood would remain.
The battlefield, once littered with blood, gore, and evidence of battle, was rapidly being cleared as if nothing had ever happened. The puppets’ silent, methodical actions hinted that this wasn’t their first time handling a “crime scene.” It was almost as if cleaning up after a kill had been programmed into their very existence.
Meanwhile, Aksai vanished in a blur, using his Flash Steps to reach the location where the Array Disk was buried. It didn’t take him long to unearth the disk from beneath the soil.
He examined it briefly, noting its craftsmanship and the flickering Essence Equation runes etched over it, before stashing it securely within the spatial storage of his ring. It would be something to study later—perhaps it could prove useful in future endeavors.
Satisfied, Aksai made his way back to where Lini stood. By the time he returned, his puppets had already completed their task. The area was spotless, devoid of any sign that a brutal battle had just taken place.
The two severed heads were placed neatly on the ground near Aksai, their dead eyes staring blankly at nothing.