Hour of Pig (05:00 PM – 06:00 PM)
A few miles away from Purple River Gate, in an unnamed forest, the somber evening slowly faded to make way for the nightly darkness.
Various Spirit cultivators and merchant caravans returned to the safety of Purple River Gate, seeking refuge within its city walls.
Yet, amidst this retreat, a few Spirit cultivators ventured out of the city, their destinations unknown. Aksai was among them, aware that he had unknowingly attracted company.
Halting his Light Steps spell, Aksai leaped down from a tree branch, landing firmly on the ground. He turned, his voice serious. “What do you want?”
Without further words, he waited patiently, soon greeted by the presence of a masked figure. “How did you know?” the figure asked plainly.
“Because I sensed the Blood Bakshi tracking method on the jade slip you gave me during the exchange meet, Zen Pewlu,” Aksai replied casually.
“You knew?” Zen’s surprise was evident as he removed the cloth covering half of his face, revealing his identity. “So you led me here? I’m surprised you managed to fool me into thinking I was dealing with an amateur.”
“Well, this isn’t my first time being followed. You learn a thing or two when the same situations keep happening,” Aksai replied, shrugging. “Imagine my surprise when I found out you’re part of the Lakir Family’s remnant forces. So, what brought you here on my tail?”
“I was Nesha’s superior,” Zen replied, his right hand feeling the hilt of the sword attached to his waist. “I was one of Lian Lakir’s direct subordinates.”
“You can’t be serious,” Aksai looked at Zen as if suddenly mentally exhausted. “Do you really want to show your loyalty to a dead young master by getting into a death battle with me? Or to the Lakir clan who doesn’t care about your existence anymore? What would that bring you?”
“No,” Zen shook his head.
“My loyalty died with the destruction of Lakir City. Today, I sought you out for a personal reason. A few months ago, Blood Bakhi found out that Lian Lakir died from an outsider not related to the Wilben family.
However, the remnant forces of the family were pushed to the depths of the Purple Poison Marshland before they could act on the lead. They don’t have the privilege of caring about Lian’s killer anymore. But meeting you, I realized something. It was you who killed Lian Lakir, right?” Zen asked, almost certain of his guess.
Being one of the core subordinates of Lian Lakir with many existing connections to the Lakir clan’s remnant forces, Zen was obviously privileged to have insider information that the masses weren’t aware of. This information also allowed him to have his suspicions about Aksai.
Before Aksai could say anything to Zen, the latter spoke further.
“I don’t care what you did with Nesha and Lian. But I do care about the Stellar Greenwood Tantra you must have acquired from his storage ring. Hand it over along with all the other cultivation resources you have received from Lian.
If not, you’ll have to hand over your life. And then I’ll be able to get those things from your corpse anyway. The choice is yours,” Zen said before pulling out his sword from its sheath.
Zen brought his sword forward in a defensive position and waved his free hand. And in the next moment, a few shadows writhed and scattered all around.
It took a moment for Aksai to realize that Zen had released his puppets to surround him. There were four of them, and they all looked hideous and ferocious.
“So these are the blood fiends,” Aksai mumbled to himself as he observed the puppets. He had to admit that the blood fiends seemed a bit stronger than his ordinary Scarecrow puppets.
The blood fiends, with their talon-like claws extended, prowled around Aksai with an eerie grace. Two bull-like horns protruded from their heads, soaked in dark red blood.
Their bodies were wrapped in tattered and worn-out cloths, which barely clung to their slightly atrophied muscles. Toughened skin, marked by scars and veins coursing with an infernal energy, covered their forms.
Their faces bore fangs and canine teeth, gleaming menacingly in the dim light, while their eyes burned a fiery red with black sclera, radiating an unsettling aura of malice.
Despite their worn appearance, their movements seemed nimble and agile. Each wielded low-grade weapons, from rusty swords to slightly broken spears.
Aksai sensed with his Spirit Sense that there were faintly beating hearts inside the blood fiends’ rib cages. However, these heartbeats were very slow, and it didn’t seem like they had souls in their bodies.
It was as if the Spirit cultivators who had died by Zen’s hands to make these blood fiends had already left the world. However, their bodies had been somewhat suspended into semi-alive states, driven by primal instinct and ferocity.
The blood fiends were clearly under Zen’s control, but he didn’t need to control their every action. Once he had given them a target, they were free to act on their objectives however they wanted.
In the blood fiends’ presence, the air thickened with a palpable sense of danger. These creatures, reminiscent of nightmares made flesh, possessed strength and power akin to that of a Spirit cultivator in their mid-stage Spirit Refining realm.
“Haha. Don’t even think about running away,” Zen laughed, looking at Aksai as if he were nothing but a mere nuisance in his eyes. Although Aksai was a 7th-stage Spirit Refiner like him, Zen had many advantages in helping him.
His time spent serving Lian Lakir’s whims and fancies had afforded him many perks. Plus, he had received many good things from the Blood Bakshis because of the chaos unleashed on the two counties.
There was no way someone like Aksai could beat him. At least that’s what Zen had thought.
“And why would I run away?” Aksai smiled like a cunning wolf at Zen as he took out the Lian Sword from his storage. Zen felt as if he had suddenly entered a wolf’s den who had led him there by wearing sheep’s clothing.
The sword Aksai had taken out was the same flying sword he had received from Lian Lakir, which he named after its previous owner. Zen recognized it immediately but refrained from expressing his shock or greed.
“Hehe. From the moment I recognized that you are one of the Blood Bakshis, I wanted you to follow me,” Aksai said as he poured his Spirit essence into the Lian Sword.
He then smiled at Zen before beckoning with his free hand to initiate an attack, his hand gesture practically screaming “Come and get it.”
Zen’s expression became solemn when he subconsciously felt a threat coming from Aksai. As a warrior who had fought many battles, he managed to suppress that feeling and decided to act decisively.
In the next moment…
Swoosh. Zoom. Clash.
===
AN: Aksai obtained Lian Sword (aka Lian Flying Sword) in chapter 57.