A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

"This is... to say the least... very interesting."

Aksai muttered to himself as he processed Arkaal’s information.

He thought for a moment before asking another question—a question that had caught his attention more than anything else.

"What exactly is the Eternal Sea?"

For the first time, Arkaal hesitated.

Not because he was unwilling to answer, but because the answer itself was difficult to explain. After all, Arkaal himself had never gone to the Shinayin Empire. How could he personally know about something he had never experienced?

However, he did possess second-hand information thanks to being a disciple of the Gu Poison King.

"The Eternal Sea..."

Arkaal looked upward.

"I have heard about that near-endless region from my late master... Many cultivators on the Dadangar Subcontinent don’t even know it exists.

"Even among the higher ups of the royal faction, the information related to the Eternal Sea is very limited. This is for the simple fact that the royal faction is treated as a mere group of servants in the Shinayin Empire. How could servants have access to information related to their lords and their domains?

"To most people here, reaching the Shinayin Empire is considered moving up the ladder in the hierarchy of cultivation centers."

"But in reality... the Shinayin Empire is merely a stepping stone. The Eternal Sea lies far beyond it."

His voice became serious.

"Master Qishan once told me that if the Dadangar Subcontinent is a village, then the Shinayin Empire is a city. And the Eternal Sea... it is an entire civilization."

Aksai’s expression finally changed slightly.

Arkaal continued.

"The Eternal Sea is unimaginably vast. It contains countless islands, countless city-states, and countless powerful cultivators."

"The weakest city-states are often ruled by Nascent Soul Kings. The stronger ones are ruled by Deity Transformation Gods."

"And the true rulers..."

Arkaal’s voice lowered.

"The Earth Immortals. They are also referred to as the Greater Overlords there. They are genuine Sixth Spirit Realm experts."

Even though Aksai had already learned bits and pieces from Yelia about what lay beyond the Nascent Soul Realm, hearing it from someone connected to Qishan gave the information a different weight.

Arkaal continued.

"In the Eternal Sea, Deity Transformation Gods are not legends. They are not hidden figures. They openly rule territories."

"They wage wars. They form alliances. They establish dynasties."

He paused.

"And according to Master Qishan, the Eternal Sea is still only a small part of the greater world. The Earth Immortals explore many worlds and rule over some of them."

For the first time, Aksai looked genuinely thoughtful. The Dadangar Subcontinent suddenly felt much smaller.

Much, much smaller.

And this was the feeling of someone who had already explored two worlds on his own. This was the first time Aksai had realized how little he knew about his current homeworld.

The Spirit farmer listened quietly as Arkaal continued explaining the origins of the royal faction in greater detail. It seemed that the royal faction had continued to grow stronger even without Qishan’s direct support during the last few centuries.

Even though there was no Nascent Soul King among the royals yet, they had successfully built external connections that reached the Shinayin Empire.

The Gu Poison King had become helpless after realizing that the faction he had once supported for his own benefit had grown far too large and influential for him to control as he wished.

Even his status as a Nascent Soul King wasn’t enough to put pressure on the other influential members of the royal faction anymore due to the fact that powers from the Shinayin Empire were involved.

As such, the Gu Poison King had become very passive in recent times to avoid any mishaps. After all, his original mission was to protect the Void Water Pond and prevent its existence from being exposed to outsiders, especially those from the Shinayin Empire or regions beyond it.

Arkaal continued providing details, making Aksai realize the true depth of the royal faction’s influence. It could be said that both the righteous sects and the demonic sects had been far too late in realizing that such a hidden threat existed right in their own backyard.

It could be inferred that the powers within the Shinayin Empire were not opposed to the sect system itself. However, they certainly liked the idea of an entire subcontinent being ruled by a single powerful faction. Such an arrangement would make it much easier for them to influence and control the ruling force behind the subcontinent.

Aksai felt both fascinated and concerned after hearing Arkaal’s explanations. However, he suppressed his curiosity and other emotions, choosing instead to process the information calmly and logically.

The two stood beneath the massive canopy of the Demon Tree. Countless red leaves rustled softly above them.

The giant tree had become one of the most important parts of the Enchanted Everwood Farm. Thick roots spread across the ground like sleeping dragons, while countless flesh fruits hung from its branches.

Aksai folded his arms.

He decided there was nothing more useful he could learn about the royal faction from Arkaal. The man had already revealed everything he knew. Continuing to question him about the same subject would only waste time.

Thus, Aksai moved on to the next topic.

"Tell me more about the Void Water Pond."

Arkaal immediately nodded.

"As you command, my liege."

He paused briefly, organizing the memories inside his head.

"The truth is, Master Qishan never liked talking about the Void Water Pond. Even among his closest followers, only I knew about it."

Aksai narrowed his eyes.

"Why?"

"Because the Void Water Pond was never truly his."

Arkaal answered honestly.

"As I said earlier, it belonged to the Ignis Clan. According to Master Qishan, the Void Water Pond had existed for an extremely long time. Long before he arrived in Dadangar Subcontinent."

"The Ignis Clan discovered it after the departure of the Mad Immortal."

Aksai immediately became interested.

"The Mad Immortal knew about it?"

Arkaal nodded.

"Most likely. At least that was Master’s guess. A place containing Void Water would be impossible for someone like the Mad Immortal to overlook."

He paused before continuing.

"When the Ignis Clan discovered the pond, they wanted to move it away."

Aksai already knew where this was going.

"But they couldn’t."

Arkaal nodded.

"Indeed."

"The Void Water Pond was attached to that piece of land in a very strange way."

"No matter what methods they used, they couldn’t relocate it. Destroying it was even more impossible. The pond seemed connected to the surrounding space itself."

Aksai remembered how difficult it had been even for him.

If not for the Void Gu and the special abilities of the Enchanted Everwood Farm, even he would never have succeeded.

Arkaal continued speaking.

"Eventually, the Ignis Clan gave up on relocating it. They decided to keep it hidden instead. They stationed trusted people to guard it generation after generation."

Aksai raised an eyebrow.

"And Qishan became one of those guards?"

"Yes."

Arkaal nodded.

"Master Qishan was merely one of the many caretakers assigned throughout history. He just happened to guard it longer than most."

Aksai chuckled.

"Only a Nascent Soul King can be called ’merely’ when talking about the Eternal Sea."

Arkaal smiled awkwardly.

"Perhaps."

He quickly continued.

"At first, Master Qishan carried out his duties faithfully. But eventually, curiosity got the better of him."

Aksai could already guess what happened next.

"The Void Gu."

"Yes."

Arkaal nodded.

"The Heavenly Poison Sect inheritance contained many strange records. Among them were ancient notes mentioning creatures called Void Gu. According to those records, Void Gu lived inside the Great Void.

"The Great Void exists beyond normal space. Theoretically, Void Water could attract them."

Aksai listened carefully. This was information even he did not know.

Arkaal continued.

"Master Qishan became obsessed. He spent decades studying the records. Then he decided to attempt something nobody had ever done."

A faint smile appeared on Arkaal’s face.

"He tried summoning Void Gu."

Aksai laughed.

"Sounds exactly like something a Gu fanatic would do."

Arkaal nodded.

"Master burned through an unbelievable amount of Spirit resources. Many of those resources came from the support he received from the newly established royal factions."

"Back then, the royal factions were still growing. They willingly supplied him with anything he requested."

Aksai could imagine it.

A powerful Nascent Soul King asking for resources.

Few would dare refuse.

"Eventually," Arkaal continued, "the experiment succeeded."

Aksai remained silent.

Even now, he could remember the strange glowing insects floating around him.

Arkaal sighed.

"Master was overjoyed. He believed he had achieved something unprecedented. He thought he would become the first King capable of controlling Void Gu."

Aksai smirked.

"And then reality hit him."

Arkaal smiled bitterly.

"Yes. Reality hit him very hard."

Arkaal shook his head as he continued.

"None of his methods worked. Not poison. Not soul contracts. Not blood sacrifices. Not Gu-specific seals. Not even formations that originated from the Heavenly Poison Sect."

"Nothing."

"The Void Gu ignored everything."

Aksai wasn’t surprised.

Even now, he controlled them only because of the Enchanted Everwood Farm. Without the farm, he doubted he could have done much either.

Arkaal continued.

"Master conducted experiments for centuries."

"He tried capturing them and feeding them. He tried studying them and even tried communicating with them."

Aksai raised an eyebrow.

"Communicating?"

"Yes."

Arkaal nodded.

"He believed they possessed a form of intelligence."

Aksai thought about his own Void Gu.

That guess was not entirely wrong. They were strange creatures. Very strange.

Arkaal sighed.

"In the end, Master failed. In every aspect."

Aksai chuckled.

"The mighty Poison Gu King. Defeated by Gu insects."

Arkaal laughed nervously.

"I suppose.... We could say that."

He quickly became serious again.

"The worst part was that he couldn’t send them away either."

Aksai frowned.

"He tried?"

"Many times."

Arkaal nodded.

"But the Void Gu simply remained. It was as if they had already claimed the pond as their home."