At first, Aksai had been worried.
The thought of coming into contact with other Foundation Building Experts, or worse, the three Core Formation Lords who had entered the Holy Land before him, weighed heavily on his mind.
He didn’t know how many demonic cultivators the three major demonic sects had sent into the Holy Land before they stopped. Even though he was confident in the preparations he had made, the other side could have a numerical advantage.
With his cultivation suppressed, he had felt exposed, like a small fish in a sea of much larger predators.
But at this point, those worries were tempered. He wasn’t invincible, not by any stretch of the imagination, but he wasn’t as vulnerable as he’d feared. His druid form had given him back a sense of control.
Of course, he knew better than to act recklessly. The Holy Land Torel was still an unknown, and he wasn’t naive enough to believe that simply regaining his cultivation base made him invulnerable.
The dangers in this place were likely far beyond anything he’d encountered before. Otherwise, the three demonic Lords would have already found their way out after spending years inside.
Aksai took a deep breath, letting the crisp air of the forest fill his lungs as he focused on Yelia once again.
“Yelia, you need to tell me what you know about this place,” he said, his tone steady but laced with curiosity. He knew she held back information for his own good, but this place—this Holy Land Torel—was unlike anything he had encountered before. It would be a bit helpful to plan things ahead if he knew what was up ahead.
“I will, my lord. But now’s not the time,” Yelia replied calmly, her voice echoing in his mind with a sense of certainty that only she seemed to have.
Aksai nodded. There wasn’t any need to rush. He had time now, especially after discovering that his druid transformation allowed him to temporarily regain his cultivation power.
This small advantage was enough to settle his nerves for the moment. The fact that the Holy Land Torel was connected to druids was becoming clearer, and that connection might be the key to unlocking whatever secrets lay hidden in this place. But he knew he could wait for the right time to dig deeper.
Taking a deep breath, Aksai decided to undo his druid transformation. His coppery-red hair faded back to its usual dark color, his golden eyes returned to their natural hue.
He didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention by staying in his druid form. Besides, with the time limitation on how long he could maintain it, it was better to conserve that power for the right moment.
The Holy Land was a dangerous place. If the demonic cultivators who had entered before him mistook him for one of the original inhabitants of this land, they might attack on sight, driven by greed or fear. It was better to blend in, appear vulnerable, and keep his true strength hidden until he needed it.
With the druid form gone, the restrictive force of the Holy Land returned, pushing his cultivation back down to the Spirit Refining realm. It was like being shackled, but Aksai accepted it. He would let the land have control over him for now.
Sitting cross-legged on the thick branch of the tree, Aksai closed his eyes and let his mind settle. His neural link fabric began executing his cultivation technique.
The technique fine-tuned his body and mind, preparing him to regain his peak form. Even with his cultivation restricted, there were always ways to strengthen the body and sharpen the senses.
As his neural link fabric worked in the background, Aksai allowed his Spirit Sense to spread out, scanning the forest around him. The towering trees were dense, their thick trunks and sprawling branches forming a labyrinth of wood and leaves. It was silent, eerily so, with only the occasional rustle of leaves disturbed by a breeze.
Hours passed as Aksai meditated. When he finally opened his eyes, he noticed something unusual. The sky above, once pitch black, was now slowly brightening, even though there was no visible sun.
It was as if the light itself was simply seeping into the sky, illuminating the forest in a strange, soft glow. It wasn’t quite like the sunrise he was used to, but it seemed that the Holy Land had its own day-night cycle, albeit an unnatural one.
After a few minutes.
The world around him was bathed in a faint light, enough to see clearly without straining his eyes. Aksai stood up on the tree branch, stretching his limbs. His body felt refreshed, his senses sharper than before.
“Time to explore,” he muttered, looking around at the illuminated forest. Even without celestial bodies, the cycle seemed regular, enough for someone to measure time if they needed to.
With the sky brightening, it was time to move. Aksai silently leaped down from the tree, landing softly on the forest floor.
Without hesitation, Aksai began walking, weaving his way through the forest. He had no clear destination yet, but he knew that staying in one place too long wasn’t a good idea.
Aksai emerged from the dense forest into an expansive, open grassland that stretched endlessly in all directions. The contrast was startling—where the forest had been thick, dark, and oppressive, the grassland was bright, almost peaceful.
The air was fresher here, and the sky above, though still without sun or stars, was softly illuminated.
In the distance, something caught his eye. A cluster of structures—man-made, by the look of it. Aksai’s instincts told him that exploring this area would be far more productive than aimlessly wandering through the vast plain.
Without hesitation, he made his way toward the structures.
As he drew closer, the structures came into sharper focus. Rows of houses, neatly arranged, stretched out before him. But the once-orderly settlement had clearly seen better days.
The houses were worn, their stone and wood exteriors cracked and crumbling. Vines and moss had claimed large portions of the walls, creeping through windows and doors.
There were at least 3,000 houses in total, each one built in the same style: a small dwelling attached to a spacious courtyard. Aksai’s Spirit Sense reached out across the area, probing for any signs of life or danger.
Yet, there was nothing—just the eerie quiet of an empty village, frozen in a state of decay.
He moved cautiously down the main path between the houses. Aksai didn’t feel the need to enter each house—his Spirit Sense had already revealed that most were empty, devoid of anything useful or valuable.
No lingering spirits, no hidden treasures. Just shells of homes, long forgotten by their inhabitants.
The silence, however, only confirmed that he was alone. There were no traces of demonic cultivators or any other beings. No movement or sound beyond the faint rustle of wind through the overgrown courtyards.
Feeling more at ease, Aksai decided to act a bit bolder. He cast his Spirit Sense further, scanning the entirety of the area.
It was during this sweep that something unusual piqued his interest.