A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Chapter 733: Taking Heilam as a Subbordinate

Heilam stood still for a long moment.

The anger on his face slowly faded, replaced by a deep sense of helplessness. His shoulders dropped slightly, as if the weight he had been carrying finally pressed down on him.

He looked at Aksai and let out a dry laugh.

“You Lords are all the same,” Heilam said in a low voice. “You twist the truth however you like, and the rest of us are expected to accept it.”

His eyes moved to the sealed cave entrances, then back to Aksai.

“What can I even do to you?” he asked bitterly. “Even if you say it to my face that you planned to let my sect members die from the start, I still have to swallow it like a bitter pill.”

He clenched his fists.

“But tell me this,” Heilam continued. “Why did you spare me? If you were willing to let my people die, why leave me alive? What do you want from me?”

Aksai sighed softly. He shook his head, looking almost tired.

“You are acting as if this is something new,” he said. “Haven’t you lived long enough to understand how our world works?”

He looked straight at Heilam.

“Might makes right. That is the only truth Spirit cultivators live by.”

Aksai’s voice remained calm, almost casual.

“Your ambition to find this cave did not come without cost either. After you got that ancient scroll and began to understand it, how many of your sect members died in the Purple Poison Marshland?”

He paused.

“Hundreds at the very least. Maybe thousands over the last three or four decades.”

Heilam’s jaw tightened.

“What right did you have to send them into such a deadly place?” Aksai asked. “Did you ask them if they wanted to risk their lives for your dream?”

He spread his hands slightly.

“I am only using the same right you used. The right of the strong.”

Aksai took a small step forward.

“Yes, being a Lord gives me certain privileges,” he said. “But why should I feel guilty for using them when every cultivator with power does the same thing in their own way?”

He then looked back at the cave.

“As for why I spared you,” Aksai continued, “it’s not because I want to be kind. And it’s not because I am hesitating.”

He met Heilam’s gaze again.

“I simply have no reason to kill you. Your death brings me nothing.”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“Do you think I am some mindless killer who slaughters anyone he argues with? If I killed you here, I would only lose another useful person inside this cave.”

He gestured toward the darkness ahead.

“And after spending so many years searching for this place,” Aksai said, “don’t you want to see what kind of reward comes from taming a fallen Dao Beast?”

Heilam clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles turned pale. His breathing grew heavy for a few seconds before he slowly relaxed his hands. The strength drained from his arms, leaving only tiredness behind.

He let out a long sigh.

“Haah,” Heilam said quietly. “I do want to see what lies at the end of this cave. I’ve spent almost four decades chasing the rewards hidden here.”

His eyes drifted toward the sealed passages and the darkness beyond them.

“My dream of standing in the same league as the Big Five Sects may never come true,” he continued. “But at least I want to see the result of all my efforts before everything ends.”

Aksai listened without interrupting. He nodded once.

“That’s good,” Aksai said. “But I won’t carry you with me into a place like this without any insurance.”

Heilam frowned.

“If you want to move forward with me,” Aksai went on, “you will lower your guard and let me plant a slave mark on your soul. Only then can I trust you behind my back.”

The words hit Heilam like a cold blade.

His eyes widened. “A slave mark?” he said sharply. “You want me to become your slave?”

He took a step back without thinking.

“That is too much,” Heilam said. “I have already lost my sect members. You want to take away my freedom as well?”

Aksai’s expression did not change.

“I am not asking,” he replied calmly. “I am stating my condition.”

Heilam’s chest rose and fell as he struggled to calm himself.

“There must be another way,” Heilam said. “An oath. A contract. Anything else.”

Aksai shook his head.

“Words and oaths mean nothing in front of a treasure like this,” he said. “I won’t gamble my life on your word.”

He then turned his head slightly.

“Grisham,” Aksai said.

Grisham stepped forward at once. The wooden veins on his body pulsed, and a sharp killing intent spread from him.

“If he refuses,” Aksai continued, “end it here.”

Heilam felt a chill run down his spine.

He looked at Grisham, then back at Aksai. He could see it clearly now. There was no room left to bargain.

If he resisted, he would die in this cave, his long journey ending in silence.

He closed his eyes.

After a long moment, Heilam opened them again. The fire inside them had dimmed.

“Fine,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Do it.”

He lowered his guard, letting his Spirit essence calm and settle.

“I agree to your terms.”

Aksai nodded, as if he had expected nothing else.

“Good,” he said. “Then we can move forward.”

Aksai then chose one of the sealed cave entrances and waved his hand. The earth and stone blocking the path cracked apart and slid to the sides. A dark tunnel revealed itself, narrow and deep, with thick poison mist rolling out like slow smoke.

“Follow me,” Aksai said.

Grisham and Heilam stepped in behind him.

The tunnel sloped downward. The walls were wet and dark green in color, as if soaked in poison for countless years. A faint sound echoed from deeper inside, like slow breathing.

As they moved forward, the poison miasma grew thicker.

At first, it only caused a light burning in the lungs. Heilam frowned and adjusted his breathing. Grisham’s steps slowed, his shoulders stiffening.

Aksai noticed everything but said nothing.

After walking for some time, the poison mist suddenly changed.

It no longer floated aimlessly. It began to swirl.

Thin streams of green fog wrapped around Heilam’s legs and arms. Grisham was hit even harder. The mist clung to his body like living threads, sinking into his skin.

Heilam groaned softly.

“What… is this?” he muttered.

His vision blurred. His heart started beating faster. A strange cold feeling spread from his chest to his head.

Grisham staggered. The vines on his woodland body twitched on their own. His breath became uneven.

The poison miasma around them started spinning faster, forming small whirlwinds around their bodies. Faint shapes appeared inside the mist, like half-formed shadows.

Aksai stopped walking.

He stood a few steps away and watched.

His eyes glowed faintly as his Spirit Sense spread out. Every change, every movement of poison essence, every reaction in their souls was recorded in detail. Inside his mind, Neural Link Fabric worked at full speed, breaking down the process piece by piece.

He could see it clearly.

The poison was not just attacking the body. It was reaching for the soul. It was copying the structure of their Spirit essence, trying to replace it with something twisted and hollow.

Heilam’s face turned pale. Dark green lines appeared on his neck. His teeth clenched as if he was fighting an invisible force.

Grisham’s situation was worse.

The poison reacted strongly to his woodland body. The mist tried to bind with the soul fragments inside him, attempting to reshape him into a new kind of poison undead.

Grisham let out a low growl.

“Master…” he said with effort.

Aksai waited a little longer.

He wanted to see how far the process would go.

When the poison miasma started forming crude faces near Heilam’s head and the pressure on his consciousness reached a breaking point, Aksai finally moved.

“That’s enough,” he said calmly.

He raised one hand.

A wave of pure Spirit essence spread out from his body. It carried a sharp will, clean and heavy. The poison mist froze in place as if time itself had stopped.

Aksai followed up with a soul-based seal. Thin lines of light entered Heilam’s and Grisham’s bodies, cutting off the poison’s link to their souls.

The swirling mist screamed silently before being torn apart.

The green fog dispersed and was absorbed into the cave walls, leaving the tunnel quiet once again.

Heilam collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath. Sweat covered his face.

Grisham steadied himself, the vines on his body slowly calming down.

The green lines on Heilam’s neck faded. The strange cold feeling retreated from his chest.

They were alive. Still themselves.

Aksai lowered his hand and nodded slightly.

“Hmm. Quite interesting. Perhaps I can make a new varient of woodland creatures using this method,” he said to himself.

Source: .com, updated by novlove.com