A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Aksai might have been intelligent, but others were no less capable than him.

At the very least, Spirit cultivators with deeper backgrounds and stronger foundations could be just as cunning as he was, if not even more so.

His instincts had saved him this time. But he couldn’t always rely on them, especially against opponents who possessed methods capable of deceiving even the instincts of cautious cultivators like him.

Judging by the variety of talismans the Empire seemed to possess in abundance, such methods were entirely possible.

He needed to act with even greater caution and care in the future. He could no longer assume that other cultivators would be easy to manipulate.

It wasn’t that Aksai had failed to take precautions when fighting Kalina. On the contrary, he had carefully planned every step before the battle even began.

However, his biggest mistake had been assuming that Kalina possessed only the strength she had displayed against the Purple River Lord.

All of Aksai’s preparations had been based on that assumption.

Had he known she carried so many life-saving measures and hidden trump cards, he would have chosen a much shorter and more decisive battle after he robbed her of her possessions.

After all, the longer the fight dragged on, the greater the chance that something unexpected could happen.

Even at the risk of exposing some of his secrets, Aksai would have revealed his druidic powers and other artifacts much earlier if he had known about these talismans.

After all, there was a real possibility that he would be forced to leave the subcontinent anyway. If that happened, exposing a few additional secrets before going on the run would not have been such a terrible choice.

Thankfully, Kalina never became truly desperate during their battle. Ironically, it was that same level-headedness that ultimately led to her downfall.

"I... I really did make the right decision. It was a good thing I used Serya before delivering the final blow."

He remembered the moment after the Void Gu had reached her heart.

He had refused to relax until the very end, continuing to treat Kalina as though she could still kill him.

Only now did he realize just how correct that decision had been.

Had he hesitated...

Had he given her even a single moment to recover...

Those two talismans might have completely changed the outcome.

Aksai carefully stored both talismans inside his storage ring.

His gaze lingered on Kalina’s corpse one last time.

"You almost won."

He slowly shook his head.

"But almost... isn’t enough."

Aksai then looked at the two talismans resting in his palm. Even after refining them, they looked ordinary. Nothing about their appearance suggested they possessed such extraordinary effects.

He smiled faintly.

"Let’s see."

Following the instructions provided in the talismans, Aksai sent a thin stream of Spirit Essence into both talismans.

Immediately, the runes engraved on their surfaces lit up. A soft glow flashed for only an instant before both talismans suddenly floated out of his hands.

"Hm?"

Aksai remained still.

The two talismans slowly circled around him as though searching for something.

Then they each chose their own position. One quietly attached itself beneath the fabric covering his left shoulder. The other settled against the side of his waist beneath his robes.

The process completed naturally. No itching or discomfort whatsoever. It almost felt as though nothing had attached itself to his body.

Aksai blinked.

He carefully moved his shoulder.

Then twisted his waist.

Nothing.

"I can’t even feel them."

Curious, he touched the places where they had attached themselves. His fingers felt nothing unusual. It was as though the talismans had become part of his clothing.

Or perhaps part of his body.

"So this is the Second Skin effect."

He nodded in satisfaction.

Such an effect alone was already extremely useful. A talisman hidden this way would never interfere with movement during battle. Nor would it accidentally fall off.

After familiarizing himself with their positions, Aksai activated the remaining additional effects.

"Invisibility."

The Spirit Essence flowing through both talismans changed slightly. The runes flashed once more. Then both talismans disappeared completely.

Aksai immediately extended his Spirit Sense toward himself.

Nothing.

Even knowing their exact locations, he failed to detect the slightest trace of their existence. Only the faint connection created through his own Spirit Mark allowed him to vaguely perceive where they were.

Otherwise even he would have believed they had vanished.

Not only from sight but also from his Spirit Sense. This was something Aksai had never come across before. No wonder he couldn’t detect anything on Kalina at the start of the battle.

"Damn..."

He couldn’t help muttering under his breath.

"These talismans are really something."

A grin slowly spread across his face.

"I wonder if this woman has more of them in her storage ring."

He glanced toward Kalina’s corpse.

"I almost can’t wait to check everything once I get back home."

The more he thought about these talismans, the more interested he became. There were simply too many things worth studying.

How were they made?

How did the Second Skin effect work?

Could it be replicated?

What kind of formations were hidden inside them?

Would it be possible to create similar talismans himself?

Aksai even began thinking about taking them apart for research after returning to Emerald Cove Island.

Perhaps he could conduct a few experiments or let Nuri thoroughly analyze their construction. He didn’t mind losing a few of them in his experiments as long as they provided intended results.

He had absolutely no idea how precious these talismans truly were.

Nor did he know how incredibly rare it was for Third-Order talismans to possess additional passive effects alongside their primary abilities. Otherwise he probably wouldn’t have considered using them for experimentation so casually.

Thankfully, at least one thing reassured him. Maintaining the Second Skin and Invisibility effects required only a tiny amount of Spirit Essence.

The consumption was so low that it was almost negligible. More importantly, these talismans were clearly designed to remain attached to their owner’s body at all times.

Only then could they be activated instantly during moments of life and death. If they were stored inside a storage ring instead, their greatest advantage would disappear.

After all, no matter how fast a cultivator was, retrieving a talisman from a storage ring during the most critical moment of a battle was always slower than simply activating one that was already attached to their body.

Aksai nodded.

"Hmm. This... this is good. I can fight more decisively next time without worrying about exposing my secrets."