A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Chapter 592: Sharang’s First Dual Path Practitioner

“What do you mean, my liege?” the gray-haired woman asked, curious.

Reymon smirked.

“What if most of us become strong enough—before the Tree Devils arrive—that we no longer feel despair even if we are trapped inside a Devil’s Den?

“How would those bastards raise their levels when there are practically no negative emotions to act as a fuel? Now do you guys understand why I want to raise the martial arts standards of all of us Sharangians as a whole?”

Reymon spoke and shook his head before coming back to the main topic. “Anyway, I was just digressing. About these otherworldly artifacts–”

He raised his hand, letting the silver ring shimmer faintly as if reacting to his words.

“The Tree Devils—and possibly that man Aksai as well—use this kind of power. It allows them to cast what we once called ‘sorcery’ or ‘demon magic.’ It’s not magic in the way our ancestors imagined it.

It’s a completely different cultivation path—one that uses the power of nature and the elemental as well as non-elemental laws to alter the existing reality rather than one’s physical body.”

The gray-haired woman’s brows furrowed. “So without cultivating this Spirit Essence… we can’t use anything that belonged to the Tree Devils?”

Reymon nodded. “Exactly. Unless you have sufficient attainment in the Spirit cultivation path, all Tree Devil artifacts that the Grand Martial Hall has collected so far will stay dormant.”

Kaayes looked at the ring again, his curiosity mixed with frustration. “Then, my lord… can such a path be learned by us Sharangians?”

Reymon didn’t answer Kaayes right away. Instead, he smiled faintly, a strange light flickering in his eyes. Slowly, he raised both of his hands and closed his eyes for a moment.

His lips began to move, whispering something under his breath in a hushed and hurried tone. The words were unfamiliar, flowing like a foreign chant that neither elder could understand.

Before the elders could make sense of what he was doing, a faint spark appeared between Reymon’s palms. In the next heartbeat, the spark bloomed into a ball of red fire, spinning lazily in the air before settling into his hand.

The two elders gasped in shock. Their eyes widened as they stared at the glowing orb. It wasn’t a Qi manifestation—they could feel it. The fire gave off a strange aura, unlike anything they had sensed before.

Reymon turned his wrist slightly, and the fireball floated from one hand to the other as if obeying his thoughts. He smiled again, watching the flames dance around his fingers.

“Even if this path to power is foreign to Sharang,” he said, his tone calm and steady, “it’s not impossible for us to adopt it.”

He let the orb drift upward for a moment before catching it again, the firelight reflecting in his sharp eyes. “However, just because there’s a possibility doesn’t mean everyone can succeed in walking this path. After many decades of struggle, I finally managed to break into what they call the Foundation Establishment realm.”

Both elders froze where they stood. Their eyes widened even more as the weight of his words sank in.

“The Foundation Establishment realm…” Kaayes whispered under his breath, his one eye trembling slightly. He didn’t understand the level of importance the Foundation Establishment realm held for any Spirit cultivator. However, he knew that his hall master was a prodigy. The fact that it even took him decades to break into such a realm meant that it would be impossible for him to reach such a realm with his talent.

Reymon spoke further. “It is the second major realm in the Spirit cultivation path. I reached it only after spending almost all the resources I gathered from the Tree Devils I killed. Everything—every spirit stone, every talisman, every strange herb and potion I looted—was consumed in the process.”

He looked down at the flickering fire, his expression unreadable. “But it was worth it.”

The two elders could barely contain their astonishment. For years, they had known their grand master as a genius in the martial and Qi cultivation path. But now, they realized that his talents went beyond that—he had achieved success in a completely foreign path, one that no original denizen of Sharang had ever managed to touch.

To walk two different paths of power was something even the greatest masters of Sharang’s known history had never attempted to do. To do it alone, without guidance, was nothing short of miraculous.

Reymon noticed their stunned gazes but paid them no mind. The red fireball dimmed and slowly vanished from his palm, leaving only faint wisps of smoke behind.

“You shouldn’t think about cultivating Spirit Essence with your current condition,” he said firmly, breaking the silence. “Without proper resources, it’s nearly impossible for anyone in Sharang to become a Spirit cultivator.”

He looked from Kaayes to the gray-haired woman and continued in a steady voice.

“Furthermore, even if we had enough resources, this path demands more natural talent than the path of Qi cultivation ever will. Compared to it, the Qi cultivation path is simpler and can be practiced by almost anyone. Spirit cultivation is not so kind.”

The elders lowered their heads, their excitement fading into sober realization. Reymon’s tone softened slightly as he concluded, “That’s why we must strengthen our Qi foundations first. Until we can match the Tree Devils in Spirit cultivation and beat them in their own game, we must build power where we can.”

The two elders bowed deeply before Reymon.

“We’ll do as you’ve instructed, my lord,” said the gray-haired woman. “We won’t let your efforts go to waste.”

Reymon gave a short nod. “Good. Focus on your Qi cultivation breakthroughs and keep this conversation between us. Sometimes the more you know the more confused you become. It is good to stay oblivious sometimes in order to stay focused on one’s path.”

The one-eyed elder, Kaayes, bowed again before turning to leave. “Yes, my liege.”

The two of them walked out of the vault. When their figures finally disappeared through the heavy doors, Reymon sighed quietly.

He looked around the vast vault once more. With a flick of his hand, he reactivated the Qi-binding mechanisms one by one. Lines of blue light ran through the floor and walls, sealing every entrance and locking the vault in layers of security.

The sound of metal and stone clinking together echoed faintly, and soon, the hall fell into complete silence.

Reymon turned around and left through another passage that led deeper underground. After walking for some time through dimly lit corridors, he reached another secure chamber. This one was much larger than the vault—it was a grand open hall.

Before him, a bizarre scene stretched across the hall. Dozens of human brains floated in the air, glowing faintly and connected by thin lines of shining light. They were arranged in perfect circular formations spread evenly across the hall’s stone floor. Each circle pulsed gently, releasing waves of Spirit essence.

Within each circle sat an elder from the Grand Martial Hall, cross-legged and still, their eyes closed. Their faces were calm, but their foreheads gleamed with faint blue marks, indicating that they were connected to the formations through their Spirit Sense.

Reymon walked slowly between the glowing circles. After crossing several rows of formations, Reymon reached a raised platform at the center of the hall. Upon it was a much larger array—a grand formation unlike the rest.

This one looked more alive than the rest.

Dozens of human brains floated several meters above the ground, turning slowly, connected by countless runes drawn in complex geometric patterns. Lines of energy ran between each brain like threads of lightning, forming a vast network that pulsed in rhythm with Reymon’s heartbeat.

He stepped onto the platform and moved to the very center of the formation. As he sat down cross-legged, the runes beneath him flared to life, bathing him in a crimson glow.

From within his storage ring, Reymon took out two thick books bound in leather. These were the Aurous-level Martial Compendium manuals—techniques born from the imperfect breakthroughs of the two elders he had helped earlier. This time, the manuals also recorded the recent observations of the freshly conducted experiments.

He placed the manuals in front of him with care. These techniques were valuable, but not perfect. He planned to change that.

He looked up at the network of brains above him. The light of the formation reflected in his eyes as he began channeling his Spirit Essence. With closed eyes, he started analyzing the two techniques. With the help of the formation, it was much easier to process information and find answers. Using the formation was akin to entering a trance state.

If Aksai had been present in that hall, he would have immediately recognized what he was seeing—the Brain Bonsai Formations. The same kind of Spirit formations Aksai had used many times to decode and merge complex theories. After all, the Spirit farmer had also obtained this formation after killing a corrupted druid.

Reymon had somehow obtained the knowledge of this technique and adapted it for his own purpose. He was fusing martial techniques, combining them to create new Aurous-level Martial Compendiums that could push the strength of the Grand Martial Hall to new heights.

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AN: The concept of Brain Bonsai was first introduced in chapter 205.

Focus is not about doing more, but doing what matters most.

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