A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Varesh stepped forward without the slightest hesitation.

The moment his black flying sword appeared beneath his feet, he shot forward.

Whoosh!

His figure disappeared into the expanding white-gray fog.

He did not slow down.

He did not even bother looking back to check whether Saelyr, Neshara, and Droven were following him.

To Varesh, hesitation was simply another form of weakness.

The fog rolled around him like an endless sea. His powerful Spirit Sense spread outward, probing the surroundings as his Sword Intent remained wrapped around his body.

"Come out."

His voice echoed through the mist.

"Whoever controls this formation, show yourself."

No answer came.

Instead—

Rustle...

Varesh’s brows twitched.

Something was moving beneath his feet.

The ground several dozen meters away suddenly cracked open.

Then another section.

And another.

Countless thick vines emerged from the earth and shot upwards.

Unlike ordinary Spirit plants, these vines were enormous. Their surfaces were covered in rough bark and strange Spirit patterns. Some were reddish-brown, while others possessed a deeper crimson shade.

They twisted through the fog like giant serpents.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Within moments, dozens of vines had spread throughout the battlefield.

Varesh’s eyes narrowed.

"A 3rd Order Spirit tree? Interesting. I have never seen or heard about this kind in the empire."

He raised a hand.

His black flying sword immediately hovered beside him.

However, before he could attack, the vines suddenly gathered together.

A strange surge of Spirit Essence spread through the ground.

Then—

BOOM!

A massive figure emerged from behind the rolling fog.

Then another.

Then another.

The sound of heavy hooves shook the ground.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Saelyr, who had just entered the fog behind Varesh, immediately stopped.

Her crimson robes fluttered as she stared ahead.

"What are those?"

A pair of enormous red beasts slowly emerged from the mist.

They were boars.

But calling them ordinary boars would have been an insult to their terrifying appearance.

Each one was as large as a small house.

Their bodies were covered in thick red scales with streaks of metallic gold running between them. Their backs were protected by dense exoskeleton-like plates, while two enormous horns curved outward from their heads.

Their tusks were black. Their eyes glowed with savage intelligence. The ground cracked beneath their hooves.

Huff!

One of the beasts lowered its head.

Steam-like Spirit Essence escaped from its nostrils.

Then it charged.

BOOM!

The earth trembled.

Varesh’s expression finally changed.

"A variant Third-Order demon beast? This isn’t even the usual habitat of such demon beasts. Can a remote island in these impoverished seas have so much diversity? Someone must have raised them here using loads of precious Spirit resources."

Varesh didn’t know that he was only partly right. The island was indeed not the usual habitat of these beasts, but they weren’t raised on Emerald Cove Island. Instead, they had their own customized habitat inside the Enchanted Everwood Farm.

The Red Golden Scale Boars had once been ordinary Red Scale Boars.

But years of careful nurturing inside Aksai’s Enchanted Everwood Farm had transformed them.

Golden Rebirth Fruits had strengthened their bloodlines, while countless experiments had altered their bodies and improved their innate abilities.

Their scales had developed metallic resilience, and their horns had become stronger. Their exoskeletons had also become thick enough to withstand ordinary Spirit Spells.

Their physical strength had reached an absurd level for their realm.

And, most importantly, they were not afraid of death.

At this point, more figures emerged from the fog.

Ten.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Forty.

More than fifty enormous boars soon surrounded the four imperial cultivators.

They formed a living wall of flesh and scales. The demon vines shot upwards behind them and flew in strange patterns.

Saelyr’s expression became serious.

"There are more than fifty of them..."

Droven clenched his fists.

"All of them are at least late-stage Second Order."

Varesh’s eyes narrowed. Only then did he realize what was happening.

The formation wasn’t merely trapping them. It was using the island’s inhabitants as weapons. And these demon beasts were clearly accustomed to fighting under the formation’s control.

ROAR!

The entire herd charged. More than fifty massive bodies surged forward simultaneously.

Varesh’s eyes flashed.

"Interesting. Let me probe them a bit."

His black flying sword immediately transformed into a streak of darkness.

SHING!

A sword light swept across the battlefield.

Several Red Golden Scale Boars were struck. Yet instead of falling, they merely staggered backward. Their scales split and blood flowed but their bodies remained standing.

Varesh’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Durable."

Before he could launch another attack—

CAW!

A sharp eagle cry suddenly echoed through the fog.

Then another.

And another.

The sky darkened.

Saelyr looked upward.

Her eyes widened.

"Damn. Another pack of demon beasts with strong Spirit Pulse around them? Is this some kind of tree-and-animal-type formation?"

The white-gray fog above them suddenly parted. Several enormous silhouettes descended from the white-gray clouds.

Their wings stretched more than ten meters across. Blue feathers covered their bodies, but faint draconic scales could be seen around their necks, chests, and wing joints.

Their talons were sharp enough to tear through Spirit artifacts. Their eyes carried an unmistakable savage intelligence.

The first Bluewind Eagle folded its wings before descending like a falling mountain.

BOOM!

The ground exploded beneath its talons. A terrifying gust of wind followed its descent. More silhouettes appeared behind it.

Soon, more than twenty draconic Bluewind Eagles filled the sky.

Eight of them possessed early-stage Third-Order auras. The remaining beasts were all late-stage Second-Order.

Saelyr’s expression finally became ugly.

"Eight Third-Order demon beasts? That too... flying type beasts. What the... I thought the natives of this subcontinent didn’t know anything about raising demon beasts."

Droven looked toward Varesh.

"Senior Brother..."

Varesh didn’t answer. His expression had become unusually solemn. Even though only the Third-Order demon beasts could threaten him even slightly, and there were only eight of them, he didn’t take them lightly.

He knew from personal experience that battling demon beasts was usually far more difficult than fighting human cultivators of the same realm. This was because beastkind was blessed with stronger bodies and even greater life force.

One could defeat them if one’s realm was higher, but that didn’t necessarily mean they could be killed on the spot. Such a large number of them meant that the battle wouldn’t be over in a short while even if the imperial cultivators managed to win in the end.

The Bluewind Eagles circled above them while the Red Golden Scale Boars surrounded them from below.

They had been completely encircled.

The four imperial cultivators were now caught between the earth and sky. They were shocked by how casually the island owner had dispatched such a powerful lineup of demon beasts to face them.

Despite what they might think of him, Aksai was actually gritting his teeth at this point. Watching everything clearly from a safe distance under the protection of the formation, he only kept quiet and didn’t join the battle because it was not the right time.

What they thought was a casual move was anything but casual.

One had to know that the draconic Bluewind Eagles were an especially valuable resource for Aksai. Compared to the Red Golden Scale Boars, raising them was far more difficult.

Aksai had spent enormous amounts of resources modifying their bloodlines.

He had even resorted to using special aphrodisiac medicines on the original Bluewind Eagles and their descendants to increase their breeding rate.

Despite all that effort, their numbers remained pitifully low. Eight Third-Order Bluewind Eagles already represented an extremely valuable force.

Aksai normally wouldn’t have released them all at once. But this battle was different.

The enemies were imperial Lords. The Emerald Cove Island was at stake. As such, there was no room for stinginess.

CAW!

One of the Third-Order Bluewind Eagles opened its beak.

A violent gale gathered around its body. At the same time, the Red Golden Scale Boars lowered their heads. Their horns glowed with golden-red Spirit Essence.

Varesh slowly raised his head.

For the first time since entering the formation, the excitement in his eyes disappeared.

Instead, a sharp killing intent surfaced.

"So it seems you want me to get serious, right? Well... your wish is granted."

His black flying sword began humming.

"Hehehe. Now this is finally worth cutting."

The surrounding fog rolled violently.

More vines emerged from the earth.

The Red Golden Scale Boars charged.

And soon, the battlefield descended into chaos.

But beneath the apparent madness, there was a clear pattern.

The demon vines moved first.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Thick red-brown vines burst from the ground around the four imperial cultivators, twisting through the air like enormous serpents. They did not attack randomly. Instead, they repeatedly struck the spaces between the four Lords.

Every time Saelyr tried to move toward Varesh, several vines erupted between them.

Every time Droven attempted to approach Neshara, a group of Red Golden Scale Boars charged into the gap.

And whenever one of the imperial cultivators tried to regroup, the Bluewind Eagles descended from above, forcing them to change direction.

Maintaining stable flight was difficult for all four imperial cultivators at this point. For the most part, they were forced to battle on or near the ground.

"Don’t let them regroup!"

Saelyr immediately realized what was happening.

Her crimson robes fluttered violently as she released several fiery Spirit Spells.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!