Chapter 545: Triggering Evolution Using the Concepts of the Heretic Dao
On the third day, Aksai focused entirely on creating battle talismans.
He mixed several Spirit inks and infused them with his own Spirit essence.
His hands moved fast, but steady. The symbols he drew were sharper, deeper, and more powerful.
The Neural Link Fabric occasionally displayed so instructions on the spectral screen as it pulled insights from the Heretic Dao and aligned them with Aksai’s own cultivation style.
His talismans began to look different—no longer carrying the sa Essence Equation patterns commonly used in Dadangar Subcontinent. They pulsed slightly with various elental powers, as if the runes were alive.
He made long-range attack talismans, defensive seal talismans, and even one that could create a temporary Spirit barrier. These were creations that even the best talisman crafters in the Big Five sects would hesitate to attempt.
By the ti the third day ended, Aksai placed his brush down slowly and looked at the stack of finished talismans.
[ Talisman Creation Expertise: Grandmaster Level achieved ]
The Neural Link Fabric announced.
Aksai leaned back in his seat and looked at his hands, stained with ink. They shook a bit as the fatigue had creeped into them.
“Haah! I never thought the Heretic Dao would help this much in the Talisman creation art… Tis like these make glad that I decided to trade with that fellow Haitin instead of making an enemy out of him,” he said with a chuckle.
He placed the talismans neatly into his storage pouch and exhaled softly. One more path had been opened. One more art had been refined.
***
A few days later.
Aksai checked his progress on the spectral screen once again.
***
[Spirit Cultivation Arts Progress]
Talisman Creation Expertise: 2nd Order (Grandmaster level)
Artifact Forging Expertise: 2nd Order (Grandmaster level)
Array Formation Expertise: 2nd Order (High level)
Alchemy Concoction Expertise: 2nd Order (low level)
[ The Spirit Farming Points Remaining: 0 ]
[ The Array Formation Expertise and Array Formation Expertise can not be raised any further due to insufficient Spirit Farming Points ]
***
“My speedrun to grandmaster level ends here, huh?”
Aksai smiled mirthlessly as he looked at the exhausted Spirit Farming Points.
He had hoped to raise his Array Formation Expertise to the Master level at the very least.
However, his accumulated Spirit Farming Points had run out at a crucial point, making it impossible for him to progress in that art any further. He didn’t even get to upgrade his Alchemy Concoction Expertise at all.
After keeping various thoughts aside, the Spirit farr decided to make use of the newly raised expertise of the Spirit Cultivation Arts right away.
He walked toward the far end of the Enchanted Everwood Farm, the soft crunch of grass beneath his feet fading as he neared the calm waters of the large pond.
What had once been a simple pond had now grown into a small lake over the years. With ti, care, and the gentle influence of Spirit essence, the water had turned clearer, deeper, and more alive.
This pond, hidden behind a line of thick Spirit trees, wasn’t too far from the giant Demon Tree that stood like a guardian nearby.
He stood at the edge of the water and looked around. The pond was divided into different sections by an old array formation that used a mix of earth and water elent Spirit spells.
Each section held a different race of Spirit fish, separated carefully to prevent chaos. The barriers between the sections looked like thin shimring lines above the water, invisible to the untrained eye but obvious to Aksai.
“It’s ti to upgrade,” Aksai muttered.
His fingers moved in the air, tracing Essence Equation runes as the familiar spectral screen appeared in front of him. With his newly improved array formation expertise, he began making changes to the core array hidden beneath the surface of the pond. He crouched by the water, one hand held over it, sending gentle pulses of Spirit essence downward.
The formation responded. A series of glowing lines lit up across the pond bed, visible through the clear water. Aksai slowly walked along the edge, adjusting the runes and etching new ones using his Spirit essence and fingers like a brush on invisible paper.
He began layering new formation paths using the concepts from the Heretic Dao—odd, twisted paths of Spirit flow that moved differently than traditional formations.
Then ca the talismans.
Aksai took out several talismans he had recently created using the sa heretic principles. He activated each one, throwing them into the air where they hovered for a mont before diving into the pond like feathers caught in the wind.
The talismans slipped into the water and attached themselves to specific spots on the array, triggering subtle transformations.
One by one, do-shaped, semi-transparent bubbles rose above the pond, covering each section like a gentle shell. Each bubble shimred in a different hue—light green, pale blue, dark crimson, soft violet—each representing a different elental Spirit essence.
Inside each bubble, the environntal conditions started to shift. In one, the water thickened slightly with earthy density. In another, it turned cooler, mistier.
So bubbles beca brighter, others dimr. It was as if the pond had turned into a miniature world, with every bubble acting as its own Spirit bio.
Aksai watched quietly as the Spirit fish inside each section reacted. So swam excitedly through the changed water. Others shimred with strange colors, their scales glowing softly.
A few even started changing in form—tiny fins growing longer, colors becoming richer, their movents sharper.
For the next few days, Aksai stayed near the pond, maintaining the new formation and observing the changes. He adjusted the Spirit essence supply to each bubble, making sure the environnt remained stable.
Yelia joined him not long after. She sat on a large rock nearby and sent in her own Spirit essence to the array, giving Aksai better control over the formation. Her wood-elent spells added balance to the extre environnts he was creating inside the bubbles.
“So of these Spirit fish are already starting to show signs of evolution,” Yelia said, watching a fish with two glowing tails dart through the violet-hued water.
“Indeed,” Aksai replied, scratching his chin. “I want to see if we can push their bloodlines without outside breeding. If I can create naturally mutated species, it’ll open new paths for Spirit beast rearing.”
Aksai smiled to himself. The Spirit fish were only the beginning. He wanted to genetically modify the demon beast he was rearing in his farm as well. After completely digesting the knowledge and insights of the Heretic Dao, his mind was filled with various ideas.
As such, he didn’t wait anymore. After confirming the success he had with the Spirit fish, he decided to move on to his next target.
He walked through the grassy fields near the southern end of the Enchanted Everwood Farm, where the Red Horn Boars were kept. A low snorting sound echoed from the small hills ahead—deep, rhythmic, and heavy. The boars were awake.
Thick-bodied, tusked, and powerful, the Red Horn Boars had a crimson-colored bone horn growing out of their heads. Aksai had previously genetically modified these common demon beasts using the concepts of the Spirit bloodlines from druidic knowledge he had gained from the demonic druid and techniques and resources from Martial World Sharang.
As such, these modified beasts had robust bodies and strong Qi within them. They didn’t have any scope in the path of the Spirit cultivation due to the modifications but that was fine with Aksai.
However, the Spirit farr was unable to improve upon the final product as he faced so natural limitations.
Apart from their potent Qi reserves, these beasts were known for their endurance and raw strength. But to Aksai, they were more than just Spirit beasts—they were a project. One he planned to take to the next level.
As he neared the enclosure, several of the boars noticed him. A few grunted and stomped, sending light tremors through the soil. Aksai walked calmly, unbothered, as the boars recognized his aura and went back to grazing and snorting in peace.
Yelia was already there, standing by a wooden pillar that housed a simple Spirit formation. She turned when she saw Aksai.
“Why are you rushing these things, my liege? You can take so rest every now and then, you know,” she said.
Aksai smiled mildly and shook his head.
“We don’t have this luxury, Yelia dear. Know thy enemies. If my estimations are right, they will soon co knocking on my doors. I won’t have much leisure ti to tend to my farm when that happens. So I need to do a few things in advance.
I also need to prepare to revisit Sharang and Acarnis. When that ti cos, the farm would be in your care. As such, I want to make it easy for you to handle my affairs here.
Plus, I’ve been thinking about the bloodline evolution triggered by the Heretic Dao all night. I want to try it.”
“Alright,” Yelia nodded after so understanding. She had to say that she couldn’t stop soone like Aksai from working non-stop when he had too many things to do.
“You’re really going to apply the Heretic Dao concepts on these beasts? Last ti you tried to outclass your own experintal results, a whole batch of around 100 demon beasts died.” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Aksai nodded after thinking a few things to himself.
“It… it should be fine this ti around. The Spirit fish evolution went better than expected. If we can refine the Red Horn Boars’ bloodlines, they might reach battle-capable levels soon.”
He looked over his shoulder and waved. From a cluster of trees, four humanoid figures stepped out. They looked like n made of tree bark, leaves, and green mist.
These were a new batch of Sentient wood-elent puppets—each one crafted with care and enhanced with basic intelligence.
They followed Aksai’s commands without delay.
Aksai turned to the field. “Let’s get started.”
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