The leader, seemingly oblivious to the murmurs, continued his briefing.
“Be prepared to tap into your druidic essence if you want to survive in there. It’s not about raw power; it’s about control. And if you can’t keep your transformation steady… well, don’t expect to make it far.”
Aksai kept his face impassive, careful to maintain his disguise. Despite his casual stance, he listened closely to every word.
This place could provide valuable insights and potentially useful resources. If the trials within required control over druidic transformation, he’d be able to test his own druidic powers here more deeply than anywhere else.
Finally, the leader raised his hand and nodded toward the cave. “Veterans, you know the drill. Newcomers, stay behind the veterans until you’re clear on how things work in there. We enter in ten minutes.”
The leader scanned the group with sharp, calculating eyes, lingering on each face for a moment until he spotted Aksai. His gaze narrowed, and his brows drew together.
“Glaven?” he muttered, his tone heavy with skepticism. “Weren’t you kicked out for failing the druid transformation? Even with the ritual, you couldn’t manage it. Why are you back here? You’re hardly fit as cannon fodder,” he added, his voice cold.
Aksai stepped forward and gave a respectful bow. He kept his expression steady, unfazed by the leader’s scrutiny. “Leader, I managed to tap into a druid form by finding another method here in the holy land,” he replied calmly. “So, I returned to try my luck once more.”
To prove it, Aksai let himself partially transform, his skin shifting and a faint, ethereal glow hinting at the druidic power within him. It was enough to signal that he could indeed channel a druidic form, even if the transformation was only partial.
A few of the other cultivators glanced over with raised brows, visibly intrigued. There were few altars in the holy land that could allow someone to awaken druidic abilities, so while his feat was rare, it wasn’t unheard of.
The leader’s suspicious gaze softened slightly as he nodded, seeming to accept this explanation. Still, he wasn’t done questioning. “And where are the two who went with you?” he asked, his tone probing.
“They couldn’t survive the transformation process,” Aksai replied simply.
The leader’s face remained impassive; he understood the dangers of the ritual well.
Failed transformations weren’t uncommon, and those who didn’t survive made the holy land as their eternal resting place.
“Alright,” he finally said, gesturing toward the cave. “You can join the exploration.”
Aksai inclined his head in acknowledgment and stepped back into the ranks.
***
Ten minutes later.
The cave exploration kicked off with a flurry of motion as each team moved into one of the many dark, winding tunnels.
With around forty demonic cultivators in the exploration, split into seven groups of five, the cave’s labyrinthine tunnels left plenty of room for each team to take a separate route without immediately overlapping.
Aksai’s group settled on a tunnel branching to the left and delved deeper, the air cool and damp, with the faintest whiff of forest soil. After a few twists and turns, the narrow passage opened up into a cavernous space bathed in an eerie greenish glow.
There, looming before them, stood two creatures that looked like wolves—massive, with bark-covered bodies, jagged branch-like claws, and eyes that seemed to glow with a faint emerald light.
Their bodies were made of wood, as if trees had taken on the form of wolves, and they were as big as mini-trucks from Aksai’s previous world. At the center of each of their heads sat a green core, wrapped tightly by thorny vines.
“The green cores,” he murmured to himself. The group’s objective was clear: destroy those green cores to bring these woodland creatures down.
With no delay, each member of the team tapped into their druid transformations. Aksai’s skin took on a faint, earthen texture, and he felt his senses sharpen as he activated his Spirit spells, prepared to test the limits of his abilities in this dungeon-like environment.
His teammates transformed too, though the strain was visible on their faces. The demonic cultivators weren’t known for coordinated combat, and their teamwork was rough around the edges. Most offered only minimal cover, attacking independently when openings presented themselves.
Aksai quickly began his assault on one of the wolves, using a mix of Spirit techniques: Earth Control to send rocks hurtling toward the creature, Wood Vines to snare its limbs and slow its advance, and Ice Spear for a direct offensive strike.
The use of Earth Control, Wood Vines and Ice Spear was one of the most used Spirit spell combos Aksai was used to unleashing on his enemies ever since he was in the Spirit Refining realm. He could make use of some of the advanced Spirit spells. He could also tap into his true druid powers to control the woodland creatures themselves to a certain extent.
However, doing so would have blown his cover. As such, he stuck to doing what was expected of him.
The wolf let out a low growl, snapping the vines and smashing aside the rocks, but its speed was hindered enough for Aksai to land a few solid hits. The two grappled, dodging and parrying with a rough kind of rhythm, while one of Aksai’s teammates, barely holding his transformation, attempted to offer some backup.
But the teammate’s concentration faltered, and he slipped out of his druidic state. Immediately, the holy land’s restrictions kicked in, suppressing his cultivation down to the Spirit Refining realm.
Aksai could sense the drop, feeling the teammate’s presence weaken. Luckily, by this time, the wolf had taken enough damage to stagger.
Seizing the chance, Aksai lunged forward with his sword and struck at the creature’s core. His blade sliced through the vines, cleaving the core in half in a sharp, decisive blow.
The woodland beast let out a low, creaking howl before collapsing into a pile of roots and branches.
Aksai didn’t waste time savoring the victory. Turning, he saw that his three remaining teammates had just finished off the second woodland wolf as well, and they now stood over its remains, breathing heavily but victorious.
The battle had lasted no more than a minute, but the speed and precision had kept things from getting out of control. Aksai allowed himself a slight nod of satisfaction; it was a smooth start, but he knew this was just the beginning.
Aksai sensed a mysterious essence being absorbed by him and his teammates as soon as they defeated the woodland creatures. The amount each person absorbed seemed directly tied to their contributions in the battle.
Aksai, having nearly soloed one of the creatures, naturally absorbed more essence than his peers. He chose to keep this detail to himself, leaving his teammates unaware of the additional benefit he’d gained.
The Spirit cultivator was more than willing to handle extra work, concluding that he’d be rewarded accordingly by the end of the exploration.
***
A few minutes later.
Aksai’s group pressed deeper into the cave, the narrow tunnels widening and then winding down into another cavern. The earthy scent had grown stronger, and an odd humidity clung to the air, thick with the scents of soil and moss.
They came to a halt when three new creatures emerged from the shadows. This time, there were tree-like monsters, their bodies covered in thick layers of bark and tangled roots, branches spreading out like clawed arms.
Unlike the wolf-like creatures from earlier, these tree monsters were far trickier to deal with. For one, their green cores weren’t immediately visible. The cores could be hidden anywhere within their twisted, sprawling bodies, adding a layer of difficulty.
Aksai squinted, trying to locate even a hint of a glowing core amidst the mess of vines and branches. But the creatures gave them little time for observation.
With a guttural roar that sounded like wood splintering, the tree monsters attacked. The group scattered, each cultivator tapping into their druid transformations and launching into battle with whatever limited coordination they could muster.
One of Aksai’s teammates—an older, grizzled cultivator with a barely held druidic form—launched forward, swinging a curved blade at one of the monster’s legs.
Aksai quickly activated Earth Control, forming a line of rock spikes beneath the creature to slow it down. But the tree monster swung a massive, root-covered limb and nearly clipped him, forcing him to dive out of the way.
“Found it!” yelled one of his teammates, pointing out a faint green glow partially hidden beneath the thick bark on the creature’s chest. But before they could close in, a different tree monster sent a flurry of vine-like roots lashing out in their direction, scattering the group once again.
Aksai rolled to his feet and decided to switch tactics. He channeled his Wood Vines spell, summoning vines of his own to clash against the creature’s. The two forces of nature collided, the magical vines wrestling for dominance while his teammates regrouped.
He then summoned an Ice Spear, launching it toward the green glow they’d just discovered. The spear struck true, cracking the bark around the core and sending splinters flying.
Aksai’s teammate followed up, lunging forward to strike at the exposed spot, and with a final crack, the core shattered, causing the tree monster to stagger before collapsing into a heap of roots.