As soon as Aksai touched the runic wall, it felt like reality itself bent around him.
He was yanked into an unknown space, as if he were a piece of fabric getting pulled through a narrow slit.
His body lost all sense of form, turning jelly-like for a split second. His vision blurred, then faded entirely, and with it, any concept of time or space vanished.
Just as quickly as those sensations had taken hold, they disappeared. Suddenly, he found himself standing in the middle of a dense forest.
“Aaah!”
He staggered for a moment, feeling as though his entire body had been wrung out by a pro wrestler—not quite the gentle touch from a beautiful masseuse one might hope for. His head spun, dizziness washing over him like a wave of vertigo.
“These side effects… are more than what I imagined them to be.”
It was night, but the sky above was eerily empty. No moon. No stars. Just a vast expanse of dark, featureless nothingness. It felt unnatural, like something was missing.
The air around him was cold, but not uncomfortably so—more like a crisp, pleasant chill, the kind that made you want to pull your cloak a little tighter but didn’t threaten to freeze your bones.
Aksai took a slow, steadying breath and looked around. The forest was dense, thick with towering trees and sprawling bushes. There wasn’t a sound to be heard—no rustling leaves, no distant animal calls, just the suffocating silence of the unknown.
He didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean he was alone. He knew better than to trust appearances in places like this. Danger could be lurking in the shadows, watching, waiting.
Not one to take chances, Aksai quickly moved away from his initial position. He needed to put some distance between himself and the spot where he had first appeared. Who knew if the mysterious wall or its residents would have more surprises in store?
After a few minutes of swift but careful movement, Aksai found a tree with branches thick enough to hold his weight. He scaled it easily and settled onto one of the higher branches, sitting with his back against the trunk.
From this vantage point, he could survey the area below while also remaining out of immediate reach from whatever might be prowling on the ground.
It was only then that Aksai reached for his flying sword, thinking to take a better look around from the air. But his fingers froze mid-movement when he realized something was wrong.
His cultivation base—it felt off. Like a candle that had been snuffed out and relit at half its usual flame. A sinking feeling settled in his stomach as he focused on his energy, confirming the worst: he had been restricted to the initial-stage Spirit Refining realm.
It felt like he’d been sent back to his teenage years, with only a fraction of his usual strength.
“I feel… powerless here.”
Aksai sighed, understanding in an instant why none of the Core Formation Lords had been able to escape the Holy Land Torel. This place didn’t just trap people physically—it suppressed their cultivation as well.
He wondered if those Core Formation Lords had been reduced to the Spirit Refining realm like him or if they’d only been forced down to Foundation Building. Either way, their usual overwhelming powers would be of little use here. It made sense now why so many had failed to leave once they’d entered.
The darkness continued to press down from the sky, though Aksai couldn’t tell if it was a natural night or something more permanent. There were no celestial bodies, no sun or stars, to suggest any kind of passage of time.
Was this place always shrouded in darkness? Would there be daylight? He didn’t know.
For now, he decided it would be best to stay put. The physical and mental toll of the spatial transfer was wearing on him more than he’d anticipated.
It wasn’t like the smooth and instantaneous teleportation facilitated by his Enchanted Everwood Farm, where he could slip between spaces with little effort. No, this felt far more taxing, as though he had been forcibly torn from one reality and shoved into another.
He settled in for the wait, perched on the thick tree branch, letting his senses gradually adapt to the forest. He would prepare himself for whatever came next, but for now, he needed rest—both physically and mentally.
Aksai was deep in thought, his mind buzzing with the possibilities and dangers lurking in the Holy Land Torel, when Yelia’s voice suddenly broke through his mental silence.
“My lord, you can tap into your druid form to get rid of the restrictions limiting your cultivation base,” she said, her voice calm but reassuring.
Aksai’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t considered this. Without wasting a moment, he initiated the transformation. His body responded immediately, as if it had been waiting for this very command.
His hair, dark and subdued just moments ago, shifted into a vibrant coppery red, glowing faintly in the low light of the mysterious forest. His eyes took on a molten gold hue, sharp and piercing, and his ears elongated slightly, adding a touch of elegance to his already striking features.
The transformation was almost instantaneous—less than two seconds—and Aksai felt a surge of power coursing through him as the restrictions on his cultivation base began to loosen. The sensation was unmistakable.
The oppressive weight that had been keeping him tied down to the initial-stage Spirit Refining realm lifted, allowing him to tap into his true strength. His cultivation returned to the Foundation Building realm, and with it came a wave of relief and confidence.
A wide grin spread across his face. “This… this is indeed great,” Aksai muttered, his voice filled with satisfaction as he flexed his hands, feeling the raw energy flowing through him once more. “Haha,” he chuckled, the sound low but full of newfound assurance.
For a moment, Aksai let himself enjoy the sensation. The restrictions that had so heavily bound him, the weight of limitation that made him feel vulnerable, were now gone.
He glanced down at his coppery hair, still glowing faintly, and touched a strand. His druid form always made him feel more attuned to nature, more in control of his surroundings.
This attunement might be more valuable than ever in a place like this.