A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Aksai smiled as he looked at his own arms.

“It didn’t even tickle,” he said.

Of course, that wasn’t exactly true.

The blessing only halved the damage—it didn’t completely negate it.

However, the damage that did get inflicted wasn’t strong enough to break through Aksai’s natural Spirit defense layer as a Foundation Building Expert.

As such, whatever damage he did receive in the end was negligible.

Aksai raised one hand and looked at the still-glowing serpents wrapped around his arm. The way they pulsed made them feel alive, sensing the fire and absorbing it without resistance.

He exhaled, letting the blessing fade. The serpent tattoos stilled and dimmed, returning to their usual inky shade.

The Spirit farmer realized something else as well. His compatibility with the fire element had increased after the Qi Shell integration. He had negligible to no compatibility with fire-element Spirit spells before.

Even though he could technically cast fire-element Spirit spells, they weren’t that impressive in terms of their output. As such, he always preferred casting wood, water, and earth element Spirit spells.

However, thanks to the integration with the Verdant Elder’s Qi Shell, all of this could change. Aksai could finally employ fire-element Spirit spells in his repertoire officially.

Of course, Aksai didn’t see the need to test his newfound compatibility by using a fire-element Spirit spell on Lini. Firstly, Aksai wasn’t very skilled in controlling the fire-element spells. Secondly, Lini Lowanfield was only an early-stage Foundation Building Expert. As such, she didn’t serve as a good “punching bag.”

Nevertheless, Aksai had already figured out most of the things related to the Agni Serpent Spirit. Even without casting the fire-element Spirit spells himself, he could already realize that he had gotten good with them just by sensing the way he could control the fire-element Spirit essence around him.

“So this is what an Epic Grade blessing feels like,” he murmured. “And this isn’t even the final grade.”

After checking out the change in the blessings himself, Aksai felt that he was finally ready. He didn’t want to waste any more time.

He stepped into the quiet farmhouse, his footsteps light against the wooden floor. The twilight from outside filtered in through the carved windows. He moved past the main hall and opened a door at the back, revealing a chamber made for one purpose alone—Spirit cultivation.

At its center was a large Yantra etched into the floor. The Essence Equation lines glowed faintly, forming a delicate yet powerful Spirit formation designed specifically for the Sun-Moon Duality technique.

Symbols of the sun and moon faced each other from opposite ends, their energies balanced and waiting.

Aksai entered without hesitation and sat cross-legged in the heart of the Yantra. The moment his body settled, a quiet hum rose from the floor as if the formation had recognized his presence.

He closed his eyes, placing his hands together in a practiced pose, then slowly began shifting through the series of Mudras—precise hand signs that matched the flow of energy within the technique.

Under his breath, he chanted the mantra of the Sun-Moon Duality. His voice was soft but steady, each word resonating in his chest and through the Yantra below.

His breathing slowed. His body relaxed. His Spirit essence sharpened. The duality within him—the heat of the sun and the calm of the moon—began to stir.

Golden warmth coiled in his core, flickering like firelight. Cool silver threads weaved through his veins, like moonlight drifting across still water.

Minutes passed. Then an hour. Then two.

Time flowed quietly around him, unnoticed. Inside the formation, Aksai remained still, the only movement coming from the slow, deliberate shifts of his hands and the quiet breath of mantra flowing between his lips.

After nearly three hours, his eyes opened.

They gleamed with dark green light before they turned black. By this point, the runic beast tattoos of the Qi Shell integration on his back and limbs had faded. He had also returned to his usual looks.

He drew in a deep breath, filling his lungs with Spirit-infused air, and released it slowly, letting go of the heaviness in his chest. The turbid air carried with it the last of his unease, leaving behind a clean sense of readiness.

He didn’t move from his spot, but his gaze sharpened.

“Let’s start the Aether Wisp ritual now,” he said softly to himself.

Then he closed his eyes again. The air in the room changed.

His consciousness slipped away from the world of flesh and breath and entered the place deep within him—his Soul Space.

Known in Acarnis as the Mind Palace, it was a world unlike any other. He again saw a familiar sight.

Endless sea stretched in all directions, its waters dark and nameless. Above it hung a sky of sunless blue, still and wide, without light or shadow. There was no horizon. No wind. No sound. Just silence and the hum of his own presence.

Aksai’s subconscious self stood atop the surface of the sea, barefoot, yet not sinking. The water beneath him was solid under his feet, like walking on glass. He raised his right hand slowly. Ripples echoed out from where he stood.

A moment later, something shimmered beneath the surface.

From the depths, the Aether Shell emerged. A perfect, smooth sphere of mirror-like light rose from the water and hovered above his palm. It glowed faintly, reflecting the sea and sky around it.

This was the purest form of his Aether essence—his soul refined over time, shaped through will, effort, and pain.

He looked at it for a moment, then closed his eyes again.

With a steady breath, Aksai triggered the Verdant Elder’s Qi Shell inside his body. Though his real body remained in the physical world, here in the Soul Space, the change echoed through his spiritual self.

The water beneath his feet stirred slightly.

He focused.

There, in the distance—like a faint heat rising from the sea—was a presence. Thick. Angry. Vague. But real.

Aksai called it inward. And as soon as he did that, the sea trembled.

Suddenly, the air above the water tore open like fabric, and from that tear, a figure dropped into the Soul Space.

It was the Verdant Elder.

At first, his form was ghostly—like mist, unclear and flickering. But within seconds, the soul began to solidify. Its bones and scales formed. Flesh wrapped around spirit. What had been memory and echo turned into a real shape.

Then came the scream.

“Human… you killed me… I… I will kill you… aaaaaah!”

The Verdant Elder’s soul was not as gullible as Aksai wanted him to be post his death. He knew exactly what had happened to him.

Aksai had already claimed the demon beast’s entire body for himself, turning it into a Qi Shell. But as if that was not enough, he also wanted to tame the beast’s soul, turning him into the Spirit farmer’s lapdog– or lap turtle in this case.

Of course, the Verdant Elder was furious.

“Graaaa!”

The Verdant Elder’s voice was filled with hate and pain. He didn’t wait for a word. The moment he gained form, he launched forward, claws slashing through the air, and Spirit spells flaring around his arms.

Aksai didn’t flinch. He had expected this.

This was his Soul Space. Inside this special place, thoughts shaped reality. And will had weight.

The Verdant Elder, though dead, was still a 3rd Order demon beast, and his will remained strong. Because he believed his spells were real, they could exist here—at least within the Soul Space.

He launched a spell. A burst of green light erupted from his clawed hand, aiming straight for Aksai’s chest.

Aksai moved his hand calmly.

A whisper of thought passed through the space, and the spell’s intensity dropped. The attack dimmed, shrinking mid-air. It no longer carried the strength of a 3rd Order spell. Now it was merely a 2nd Order Spirit spell, dulled and weakened.

Even though the Verdant Elder had a stronger soul, Aksai was still in control of many things inside his own Soul Space. It also helped that the Verdant Elder no longer had a mortal vessel to claim, which had greatly weakened his soul’s power.

The burst struck, but Aksai had already raised his arm.

His Super Callous Skin blessing activated.

A dark green turtle-shell barrier appeared over his body, firm and clear. The spell struck the barrier and fizzled away, leaving nothing but a ripple.

“Your spells won’t work like before,” Aksai said quietly.

This was the reason Aksai had wanted to test his upgraded blessings before starting the Aether Wisp ritual. Only by experiencing the blessings firsthand could he manifest their effects inside his Soul Space through his will.

Although Aksai could also use his Spirit spells inside the Soul Space by imagining them, there was a drawback in this case.

The Verdant Elder knew that Aksai was only a Foundation Building Expert. As such, all of Aksai’s Spirit spells would appear weaker inside the Soul Space, affected by the Verdant Elder’s perception of Aksai’s abilities.

The strength of the Spirit spells here was essentially a battle of wills. And although Aksai held the role of a regional deity within his own Soul Space, he couldn’t fully suppress the Verdant Elder’s will due to his 3rd Order demon beast status.

However, this was where the effectiveness of Qi-based attacks powered by the Qi Shell integration stood out.

His upgraded blessings could also be used against the Verdant Elder, as the beast had never encountered them before his so-called “death.”

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AN: The term Mind Palace was first used in chapter 232.

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