A Farmer's Journey To Immortality - Chapter 673: Verdant Elder’s Shadow Dantian
Chapter 673: Verdant Elder’s Shadow Dantian
Aksai activated the second Innate Cube.
A cool blue-silver wave rushed down his spine.
His limbs were coated in water essence and felt light, almost weightless.
Aksai vanished from his spot and reappeared several steps away.
The agility-type Innate Spirit Spell boosted his speed and sharpened his reactions. It felt natural, like the flowing nature of water itself was helping him move.
The three Sentient Fiends roared and rushed toward him at once.
Aksai smiled—and activated the third cube.
A deep brown light flashed under his skin.
A soft rumble followed.
A brown barrier formed around his body, made of earth essence interwoven with tiny star-like points that flickered with a strange strength. The defense-type Innate Spirit Spell locked into place, turning the air around him solid.
The stone fiend slammed into him first.
The impact echoed sharply, but Aksai didn’t even shift his footing. The barrier held strong.
The shadow fiend tried to slip past him with its fast movements, but Aksai’s boosted speed let him track it clearly. He turned, swung his arm, and hit it right in the side. The creature skidded across the platform.
The burning fiend jumped high, flames gathering in its mouth.
Aksai lifted his hand.
Three lights—gold, blue, and brown—ran across his skin as all three Innate Spells worked together. His healing spell fed his stamina. His agility spell let him dodge the incoming strike with ease. His defense spell formed a shell on his left arm, blocking the blast that came after.
The Spirit farmer dashed forward, appearing before the burning fiend in a blink. A sharp strike blew it back, cracking its chest. He spun and used the earth-star defense energy as a counter-shield, slamming it into the stone fiend and pushing the creature back with overwhelming force.
The shadow fiend tried one last desperate attack, but Aksai’s agility spell was faster. He stepped behind it and hit the back of its neck cleanly. The creature’s form scattered like dust.
The other two fiends fell soon after, unable to stand against his combined power. When the last one collapsed and faded away, Aksai let out a long breath.
All three Innate Spirit Spells had worked better than he had anticipated. Not just alone, but together.
His heart thumped hard with excitement. His blood felt hot. His whole body buzzed with the kind of energy only a breakthrough could bring.
“I can finally make use of my current realm properly,” he whispered, looking at his hands. “Although it is a bit regrettable that the Tantra doesn’t have an attack-type Innate Spirit Spells, I have an absolute advantage when it comes to the number of Innate spells. Most Lords only have a single Innate spell. Even the so-called geniuses would only have access to two Innate Spells. And yet, I have three of them. This… This should give me enough advantages when it comes to dealing with the Three Supremes from Kalingoot.”
Aksai said to himself and let the last traces of spirit essence settle in his meridians. The three Innate Cubes in his Dantian were spinning slowly, glowing faintly. He was getting ready to end his cultivation for the day and step out of the palace when a crisp voice echoed inside his mind.
[Master, you can make use of the Verdant Elder’s Innate Spirit Spells as your own now that you have reached the Core Formation realm. We can use a method partly taken from the Shadow Wood Tantra to create a shadow Dantian. This shadow Dantian can store the Innate Cube of the Verdant Elder.]
Aksai paused mid-step. His brows rose. “…What?”
He stood there for a moment, stunned. He knew that the Neural Link Fabric was even more proactive than before ever since his recent Spirit cultivation breakthrough. However, he did not imagine that it would pleasantly surprise him to this extent.
Of course, the reason the Neural Link Fabric could even come up with this method was because Aksai had recently enriched it’s database with more than 90 3rd Order Spirit cultivation thanks to Haan Di Lord’s generosity.
He took a slow breath and asked, “Will it be compatible with the Sun Moon Stars Trifection Tantra? This Tantra is already difficult enough. I don’t want to ruin my foundation by mixing things blindly.”
He wasn’t rejecting the idea, but he had to be careful. He had struggled enough with three Innate Spirit Spells. A mistake here could cripple his foundation permanently.
The Neural Link Fabric replied without delay.
[Master, I have run more than one thousand simulations. The process will not interfere with the Tantra you are practising. The shadow Dantian created from the Shadow Wood Tantra’s method will be completely separate from your main Dantian. The Innate Cube formed inside it will also remain separate.]
Aksai frowned slightly.
“That still sounds risky. If the cube is separate, how will I use the spells? And will I need to cultivate it personally?”
The answer came smoothly.
[You will have full usage rights to the Innate Spirit Spells originally belonging to the Verdant Elder. However, you will not control their growth. The administrative rights will belong to the Aether Beast—your Verdant Elder.]
Aksai blinked. “…Meaning?”
[Meaning the progress of the shadow Dantian, its Core, and its Innate Cubes will depend entirely on your Aether Beast’s growth and the strength of your Innate Qi Shell. You do not need to put in extra effort or spirit essence to maintain it.]
Aksai’s expression changed slightly.
“So the Verdant Elder cultivates… and I get to use the spells?”
[Correct, Master.]
The Verdant Elder was a creature that was neither fully alive nor truly dead as Aksai had turned his body into Qi Shell and his soul I yo his Aether Beast. Its growth was special already. If the Aether Beast could cultivate its own Innate Cube—and he could use the abilities…
It was hard not to feel tempted.
Aksai took a long breath and muttered, “This would give me a fourth Innate Spell… without the cultivation burden falling on me…”
His fingers tightened slightly.
He had just finished three months of nonstop effort to complete three cubes.
A fourth ability—especially one linked to the Verdant Elder—would be a major advantage. It would also make it easy for him to deal with with the First Supreme of Kalingoot.
But this also meant tying his growth even more to the beast’s growth.
The Neural Link Fabric sensed his hesitation and spoke again.
[Master, the compatibility is safe. The only condition is that your Aether Beast must continue to evolve. The stronger the beast, the stronger the shadow Dantian and its Innate Spell will be.]
Aksai finally let out a soft chuckle.
“This is groundbreaking,” he said. “But… if the simulations show no danger, then this could be worth it.”
He looked toward the inner part of the Mind Palace where the Verdant Elder usually rested. A faint green glow pulsed from that direction, as if the beast sensed his gaze.
Aksai smiled. “Alright,” he whispered. “Show me how to start.”
In the next moment, the Neural Link Fabric’s voice rang gently in his mind.
[Master, we will begin. First, you must separate a small portion of your Dantian. This will become the shadow Dantian.]
[Prepare yourself. There will be pain. Although I will regulate the pain sensors to reduce the sensation, you’d still phantom pain related to your soul essence.]
Aksai exhaled slowly. He had known it wouldn’t be easy.
“Do it,” he said.
The next moment, a sharp, tearing pain shot through his lower abdomen.
It felt as if invisible hands were gripping the edge of his Dantian and pulling it apart. His breath trembled. Sweat rolled down his forehead as the inner space of his Dantian shook violently.
A thin slice of the Dantian’s inner space was forcefully peeled away.
Aksai groaned and clenched his teeth.
His face twisted. It felt far worse than breaking through to the Core Formation realm.
The Neural Link Fabric remained steady.
[Hold on, Master. Do not resist. Let the split complete.]
Aksai let his spirit essence circulate freely.
The tearing sensation lasted for a few more seconds before it finally eased.
His Dantian felt raw, wounded, and unstable.
Without waiting for any prompt, Aksai activated the healing Innate Spell from his wood affinity cube. Soft green light filled his body.
Gentle waves of spirit essence soothed the damaged area. Slowly, the torn wound in his original Dantian stitched itself back together, leaving it whole and stable once more.
His breathing steadied.
“Alright,” he whispered. “What next?”
[Now we bind the split fragment to your Qi Shell. Once linked, it will become the shadow Dantian.]
At the Fabric’s guidance, Aksai circulated his spirit essence outward, connecting the small, floating fragment of his Dantian to the inner layer of his Qi Shell. Thin strands of energy extended like threads, binding the new form in place.
The split fragment pulsed.
Then, before Aksai’s eyes—within his inner mind—the fragment began to darken into a faint, shadowy orb. It turned hollow and ethereal, like a ghost version of his true Dantian.
A soft hum echoed in his consciousness.
[The shadow Dantian is stable. Now it will form an ethereal link with your original Dantian]
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
