A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Chapter 720: Dangers of Forbidden Spirit Spells

In that instant, Aksai stopped smiling.

Before anyone could notice the change, he activated his Qi Sense. His eyes widened as soon as he did.

Swoosh.

Something was coming. Aksai moved without hesitation. He rose from his seat in a blur and reached out toward empty air.

Clink.

His fingers closed around something solid. When he opened his hand slightly, he saw it.

It was a needle. It was so small and thin that it was almost invisible. If not for his instincts and Qi Sense, it would have pierced his skin without him ever knowing.

The needle’s surface shimmered with a faint dark color. It was a third Order poison.

’What… What the hell? What kind of poison is this?’

Aksai’s pupils shrank.

Golden Qi wrapped tightly around his hand, forming a protective layer. The poison did not touch his skin, but even so, he could see the golden Qi being eaten away, bit by bit, like metal dipped in acid.

A cold feeling spread in his chest. This poison was strong. Strong enough to threaten even a Core Formation Lord. Before he could think further, another warning flared inside him.

This time, it was sharper. Aksai’s other hand moved on its own. He grabbed at the space beside him.

His fingers closed around an invisible wrist.

At the same time, a human hand appeared out of thin air, as if it had stepped out of another layer of the world. A dark sleeve followed, and then the outline of a body began to form.

’Hmm? An… an assassin?’

Aksai couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Were there assassins in Dadangar Subcontinent capable of accepting the commission to kill Lords?

The hall erupted into chaos. Everything had happened in less than a breath. Life and death hung on that single strike.

The maids gasped and cried out. Some stumbled back in fear. Zara and Violet reacted at once, their auras flaring as they moved to protect the others.

Aksai did not look away from the assassin.

His grip tightened.

The masked figure had clearly not expected to be caught. A flicker of shock passed through the assassin’s eyes. But the assassin did not hesitate.

With the hand that was still free, he thrust a dagger forward, aiming straight for Aksai’s heart. The blade gleamed coldly as it cut through the air.

The assassin moved without hesitation.

His free hand snapped forward, the dagger flashing toward Aksai’s chest. It was a clean strike, fast and sharp, aimed straight at the heart.

Aksai’s pupils shrank.

The dagger was only a 2nd Order artifact. Under normal rules, such a weapon should not even scratch a Core Formation cultivator. And yet, the moment Aksai sensed it, a deep warning rang in his mind.

Something was wrong.

He did not rely on his body alone.

Golden Qi surged from his dantian and wrapped around his arms like liquid metal. His feet shifted as he used a refined martial stance, moving to intercept the strike head-on. His forearm swung down, aiming to knock the dagger away before it reached his chest.

But the assassin’s eyes flickered with cruel calm.

Just before Aksai’s Golden Qi could touch him, the assassin’s hand turned unreal.

It phased out.

The dagger and the hand holding it became hazy, like smoke passing through air. Aksai’s counter passed straight through it, hitting nothing.

Aksai’s heart skipped a beat.

In the next instant, the assassin’s hand became solid again.

The dagger reappeared right in front of Aksai’s chest.

At the same time, the runes carved into the dagger flared to life. Red light spread across the blade, and heat exploded outward. Fire-element power surged, sharp and violent.

These special fire-element runes were the reason why Aksai felt threatened even from a 2nd Order artifact. They were also forbidden in nature, meaning a lot of people had died while creating that simple rune.

The dagger struck.

A sharp pain bloomed in Aksai’s chest as the blade pushed past his Natural Spirit Barrier. The barrier trembled and bent, failing to fully block the attack.

Blood appeared. A thin line of red spread across Aksai’s chest, staining his robe.

The assassin’s eyes lit up with joy.

But at the same moment, a horrible change happened to the assassin himself.

The hand holding the dagger began to rot at an extremely rapid pace.

Flesh peeled away as if it were melting wax. Skin slid off in wet strips. The muscles underneath broke down, turning black and soft. Even the bones started to dissolve, cracking and sinking in on themselves.

A sharp and burnt leather-like smell filled the air. The assassin did not scream. His face twisted, but instead of fear, he smiled wider.

It was clear now. Phasing out his body was not free.

It was a forbidden Spirit spell, one that burned the user’s own life and body in exchange for power. Even if Aksai did nothing, this man would not survive much longer. The effects only began at the origin but they were bound to spread to his whole body.

The assassin laughed softly as blood dripped from his ruined arm.

“I got you,” he whispered.

But then his smile froze. The dagger had drawn blood, yes. But for some reason, it had not gone deep.

The blade was stuck at the surface, unable to pierce further. Aksai’s chest muscles were firm, almost unnatural. The wound was shallow, far from fatal.

“Did you now?”

Aksai asked and smiled as he tightened his grip around the assassin’s arm, which felt like he was holding a lump of bread because of the forbidden Spirit spell’s rapidly spreading effects.

At that exact moment, two silent lines of light appeared in Aksai’s vision.

[Druid’s Blessing: Callous Skin passive-type blessing active]

[Druid’s Blessing: Agni Serpent Spirit active. All types of fire damage are reduced by 50%.]

Aksai’s skin had hardened beyond normal limits, layered with druidic power. He had first treated this passive blessing as something that was useless to him in his homeworld since he fought all his enemies from a distance using his Spirit spells. But who would have known that this seemingly useless ability would one day help him avoid a severe injury?

Of course, Callous Skin alone wouldn’t have been enough to stop the assassin who had prepared a lot and put his life on the line to kill Aksai using forbidden arts. It was Aksai’s epic-grade blessing that had done the heavy-lifting.

The fire that should have burned into his flesh was weakened, its force cut in half before it could do real harm.

The assassin’s breathing turned rough. His melting arm trembled as the truth sank in.

“This… is impossible,” he muttered. He had calculated every accident and prepared countermeasures. And he still failed?

Aksai looked down at the blood on his chest, then back at the assassin.

His face was calm. But his eyes were cold.

All this time, it was him who used to target his enemies’ hearts? How did he allow someone else to do the same to him? For some reason, he was angrier at himself than at his assassin. The perfectionist in him felt like raging.

Aksai moved the moment he saw the assassin hesitate.

The man was already dying. His arm had lost most of its flesh, and his breathing was uneven. But Aksai did not want him dead yet.

“Alright. You had your fun. Now don’t move,” Aksai said calmly.

Golden Qi surged from his body and spread out like invisible chains. His hand shot forward, aiming to seal the assassin’s meridians and stop him from using any more Spirit spells. If he could restrain him, there was still a chance to extract answers.

Who sent him?

How did he enter the palace?

How many more were hiding in the shadows?

Aksai’s fingers were just about to touch the assassin’s shoulder.

Then everything went wrong.

A strange ripple ran through the assassin’s body. It was not Spirit essence. It was not Qi. It felt twisted and unstable, like something forced together that was about to break.

Aksai’s eyes narrowed.

The assassin looked up at him and smiled one last time. Blood leaked from the corners of his mouth as he whispered, “hehehe. You won’t get anything… from me.”

Before Aksai could react, the man’s body collapsed inward.

There was no explosion.

There was an implosion.

The assassin’s chest caved in as if crushed by an invisible hand. His limbs folded unnaturally, pulled toward his center. A heartbeat later, his entire body burst apart.

Flesh, blood, and broken bones scattered in all directions.

A wet sound filled the hall.

Aksai was forced to retreat half a step as pieces of the assassin splattered across the floor, walls, and nearby pillars. The smell of blood and burnt flesh spread through the air.

Golden Qi flared around Aksai’s body, blocking the flying remains. Drops of blood slid off his barrier and fell to the ground.

Silence followed.

Where the assassin had stood, there was nothing left but a mess of scattered flesh and dark stains on the polished floor.

Source: .com, updated by novlove.com