A Farmer's Journey To Immortality - Chapter 612: Ambushing One-eyed Kaayes

Chapter 612: Ambushing One-eyed Kaayes

Somewhere outside the city.

The cave was silent except for the steady sound of breathing and the faint hum of Qi circulating through the air.

One-eyed Elder Kaayes stood in the center of the rocky chamber, his bare feet planted firmly on the cold stone floor. His body moved in practiced rhythm, shifting from one stance to another with sharp precision.

Each motion carried a faint silver glow that traced along his arms and legs before fading into the dim light.

Outside, the wilderness stretched endlessly — thick forests, jagged cliffs, and the distant echo of nocturnal beasts. The cave itself seemed ordinary from the outside, but inside, the air was dense with wild Qi of the forest and mountain.

The Qi formations Kaayes had carved into the stone walls earlier shimmered faintly, helping him control the spiritual flow during his training.

His movements slowed after a while, and he exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The old scars across his arms glistened faintly under the silver Qi. His single eye, sharp and gray like weathered steel, held both determination and greed.

“Almost there,” he muttered to himself. “Just a little more…”

The technique he was using wasn’t the same one he had used for decades. This was an improved version — one Reymon Seablaze himself had provided him with.

The Grand Master had upgraded the technique from an Argent-level to an Aurous-level method, a gesture that was both reward and expectation. Kaayes knew that Reymon didn’t give such gifts without purpose.

As he continued to circulate his Qi, his thoughts drifted to the order he had received before he came here. He was to complete his breakthrough using the Golden Rebirth Fruit before the Hall’s forces launched their siege on Zinnia’s martial arts school.

Once the breakthrough was complete, he was to join the main force and stabilize his new realm by fighting Aksai and his forces— the target of the entire operation.

There was no better way to anchor one’s Aurous foundation than to fight a life-or-death battle immediately after breaking through.

A faint smirk crossed his lips as he thought about it. “Lord Reymon knows me well,” he whispered.

He wasn’t the only one preparing. A gray-haired woman, another elder of the Grand Martial Hall, was training in a nearby cave not far from his.

She too had been gifted a Golden Rebirth Fruit, and both their locations were kept secret — known only to the higher ranks and the seven Aurous Artists who would act as their backup once the siege began.

With such precautions, Kaayes didn’t have to worry about being interrupted or ambushed. Everything had been arranged perfectly.

He took one last stance, channeled his Qi through his meridians until it hummed like a river under his skin, and then stopped. His breathing steadied.

The silver glow around him slowly faded. He sat cross-legged on the cold ground, his face calm but his eye bright with anticipation.

Beside him lay a small chest carved from dark wood. He pulled it closer and gently opened it. Inside, wrapped in a thin black cloth, was the Golden Rebirth Fruit. As he peeled away the cloth, the cave brightened slightly, bathed in a soft golden glow.

The fruit looked smooth and radiant, with tiny runes of gold flickering across its surface. Its fragrance filled the cave, thick and sweet like honey mixed with sunlight.

Kaayes stared at it for a long time. His breathing quickened, and his heart beat faster. “Finally…” he murmured, his voice trembling with excitement.

He held the fruit with both hands, feeling the warmth spreading through his palms. “Everything’s perfect,” he thought, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I just need to eat this treasure… and I’ll step into the Aurous Realm.”

He closed his eye, steadied his breath once more, and lifted the glowing fruit toward his lips.

Just as he was about to take a bite, a sudden chill ran down his spine. Every muscle in his body froze. The air around him, which had felt calm a moment ago, felt murderous. His instincts screamed at him—something was wrong.

He stopped breathing for a moment and turned his head sharply, scanning the shadows of the cave. The Qi formations on the walls still shimmered faintly, but there was no sign of movement. Not even the usual drip of water echoed inside the cave now.

“Who’s there?” he asked, his voice tense.

Silence answered him.

He frowned and quickly placed the fruit back inside the chest. Then he stood up, his single eye sweeping across the cave from one corner to another. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears. The sense of danger was strong, but there was nothing visible.

After a while, he rubbed the back of his head and let out a small laugh. “Must be my imagination,” he muttered. “Maybe I’m too excited about having the Golden Rebirth Fruit.”

He chuckled again, trying to shake off the unease. He sat cross-legged once more and steadied his breathing. Slowly, he reached for the chest again, trying to calm the nerves that still buzzed in his body.

The moment he lifted the lid, the cave filled with a faint golden glow once more. Kaayes smiled faintly and reached out to take the fruit.

But before his fingers could touch it, a sharp sound cut through the silence—like air being torn apart.

A silvery shard of light shot out of the darkness and pierced straight through his back, bursting out of his chest in an instant. The impact forced a grunt out of him. His eye went wide with shock. Blood spilled down his chest, and his hand froze in midair.

Before he could react, he felt something cold and rough push into the open wound in his back. A hand. It slid between his ribs and wrapped around his heart.

Kaayes gasped, his whole body trembling. Everything happened so fast that his mind couldn’t keep up. Pain spread through him like fire.

Then—yank.

His vision blurred as the hand ripped his heart out.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com