A Farmer's Journey To Immortality - Chapter 406

Chapter 406: Woodland Bear
A few hours later.

Aksai stepped onto the raised platform of the 4th stage.

The underground hall he had just passed through was quiet—unnervingly so, with no other teams gathered to face the trials of this next stage.

Most cultivators had chosen to quit after the third stage. Aksai couldn’t blame them; the cave wasn’t a place for those who could hardly maintain their druidic forms for more than a few minutes.

The teams sent for the cave exploration this time were ordinary teams. The powerful cultivators from the three major demonic sects were expected to explore the cave after a few days.

As such, there was no point in Aksai waiting for anyone. He also found this very convenient for himself. After all, he had his puppets when it came to battling opponents in groups.

The platform beneath him hummed faintly, the array etched into its surface pulsing with an ancient energy that crackled in the stillness. Aksai’s eyes narrowed. This wasn’t the kind of place where you’d want to proceed half-prepared.

He extended his palm, summoning three Sentient Scarecrow Puppets.

Lini Lowanfield appeared next. Unlike the puppets, Lini was a living, breathing creation—though, to be fair, her breathing was more ceremonial than functional. Still, her earlier injuries were nowhere to be seen.

Aksai’s hand lingered at his waist, fingers brushing against the hilt of his Lian Sword. He hadn’t drawn it in a while, but today felt different. This wasn’t just a test of strength; it was a test of endurance.

If the 4th stage turned out to be the kind of monster he was expecting, he’d need more than just his puppets and usual tricks.

With a fluid motion, Aksai unsheathed the Lian Sword, the blade gleaming in the dim light of the cave. His other hand grasped the Celestial Fang, the long black blade that pulsed with raw energy.

Aksai hadn’t made significant use of the Celestial Fang since its creation, despite it being an extremely powerful sword in his possession.

He still wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about it—the weapon had an insatiable hunger for his Silver Realm Qi, draining it faster than he liked during earlier tests.

As such, the Celestial Fang couldn’t ideally be used for fights lasting longer than a minute or two. Aksai had kept the Celestial Fang, Celestial Shards, and Celestial Stinger as trump cards for his exploration in the Duya Forest.

However, he decided to use the Celestial Fang on the 4th stage of the cave exploration because he didn’t dare underestimate the potential difficulty it posed.

“Alright,” Aksai muttered under his breath, steadying his grip on both blades. “No holding back.”

Then he stepped forward. The raised platform took his actions as a cue to summon something at the center.

Aksai felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as the green core pulsated in the center of the platform. The vibration of Spirit essence it emitted made the air heavy, as if nature itself were holding its breath.

The energy twisted and writhed like an invisible serpent, coaxing life out of stone and dirt. Vines as thick as a man’s arm burst from the cracks beneath Aksai’s feet, coiling and weaving with branches and trunks that sprouted almost violently.

The wood creaked and groaned, growing impossibly fast, until the form of a colossal woodland bear took shape, towering above them at nearly four stories tall.

Aksai’s fingers tightened around the hilt of the Lian Sword. He could already feel the damp chill of sweat sliding down his temples as the bear’s eyes—a pair of glowing, viridian orbs—snapped open and locked onto him. The bear’s “fur” rustled like dry leaves.

The bear let out a thunderous roar, the deep, resonant sound causing small rocks and dust to tremble and skitter across the stone platform. The force of it pushed Aksai back half a step, and he had to brace himself to stay steady.

‘A 2nd order mid-stage beast? Damn. did this thing appear because I became a mid-stage Foundation Building Expert?’

The Spirit farmer’s heart thumped in his chest, matching the rapid pulses of energy the green core continued to emit. To his surprise, the beast also seemed to be capable of casting complex Spirit spells, which could be said to be his bloodline abilities.

“Of course, it couldn’t just be a simple beast,” Aksai muttered through gritted teeth. He cast a sideways glance at Lini, who stood eerily calm, her eyes reflecting the light of the bear’s emerald eyes. Even though Lini was just a creation, the ceremonial nature of her breathing quickened, indicating that she was picking up on the tension as well.

The bear shifted, taking its first lumbering step. Each movement was accompanied by the groaning stretch of vines and the splintering snap of bark. A thick root crashed down, coiling tightly around the edge of the platform as if to prevent any escape.

Its massive claws, formed from interlocking branches sharpened to lethal points, glistened with a faint, sappy glow that suggested more than just raw power—it was imbued with a form of Spirit essence, likely potent enough to break through most defensive spells.

Aksai’s three Sentient Scarecrow Puppets shuffled forward. Their sewn eyes seemed to widen as if sensing the disparity in power between them and the woodland colossus.

“Grrrrr!”

The bear roared again, rearing up on its hind legs. The size difference between it and Aksai was comically lopsided; it looked as if the wooden titan could crush him with a single blow.

As the bear slammed its front paws down, the entire platform shuddered, and cracks radiated outward from where its claws struck. Lini staggered slightly, her balance momentarily disrupted, while one of the Scarecrow Puppets stumbled but quickly righted itself.

“Alright, big guy,” Aksai muttered, switching his grip on the Celestial Fang and feeling the familiar drain on his Qi begin, a cold rush surging up his arm. He would need to be strategic—this wasn’t an enemy he could take down with brute force alone.

With a flick of his wrist, he signaled the puppets to spread out, circling the bear and moving like dark shadows in a synchronized dance. Lini stepped to his side, her ceremonial breath steadying as her hand formed a quick set of seals. Light flickered around her fingers, creating faint runes that floated into the air like embers.

The woodland bear let out a guttural growl and swiped one massive, branch-woven paw at the nearest puppet. The impact shattered the puppet’s left arm into splinters, and it staggered back, its head jerking at an unnatural angle as if to reassess the situation.

The bear’s eyes shifted momentarily, assessing its new targets, and its mouth opened to reveal rows of jagged, twig-like teeth.

“Not good. It seems he is about to cast a Spirit spell,” Aksai spoke out loud, which was in vain because his puppets and Lini were already aware of their circumstances.

The creature’s power felt heavier, more daunting than he’d anticipated. He tightened his jaw and squared his stance.

The woodland bear reared back, and Aksai could feel the pressure building. Then it happened—a blinding, beam-like attack shot from the creature’s mouth, as intense and destructive as any high-powered laser.

Aksai barely had time to shout before the beam sliced through his first puppet, then the second, and finally the third, reducing each one to shredded cloth and smoldering flesh.

“Fucc*k!” Aksai muttered, clenching his jaw. He had hoped his puppets would last longer, but against a creature like this, they might as well have been paper dolls.

It was just him and Lini, the only ones left who could keep up with this monstrous creature. They exchanged a brief glance, an unspoken agreement passing between them—this fight was going to get rough.

“Let’s move!” he called out, tapping into Flash Steps without holding back. A faint white layer enveloped his body, making his movements faster and sharper.

Lini’s form blurred as she activated a similar spell, both of them darting around to the bear’s hindquarters, where its bulk slowed its reaction time.

With a firm grip on his swords, Aksai plunged into his dual-sword style. The Lian Sword in one hand, the Celestial Fang in the other, each blade infused with both Qi and Spirit essence. He began launching a series of flying slashes, each one a sharp arc of energy that sliced through the air toward the bear.

The bear roared in fury, twisting and turning as it tried to track them, but its bulk and the vines anchoring it to the platform made it slow to keep up.

Aksai and Lini darted around, keeping to its blind spots, coordinating their attacks with precision. Each time the bear swung its massive claws or tried to stomp on them, they evaded, counter attacking with a flurry of slashes and spells.

But it wasn’t easy. Every time the bear roared, the air trembled, and waves of Spirit essence seemed to pulse from its body, nearly knocking them off balance. Aksai could feel the strain in his arms from wielding both swords, his Qi and Spirit essence draining faster than he liked. But they couldn’t afford to stop.

Finally, his attacks began to chip away at the bear’s green core, the pulsating energy at its center.

“This thing… It’s tough… but not impossible. I… I can do it.”

Aksai grinned, sweat dripping down his face, his vision blurring slightly from exhaustion.

“We’re getting somewhere!” he shouted to Lini, who responded with a curt nod, her ceremonial breathing ragged as she launched another spell at the bear’s side.

The bear growled, a deep, guttural sound that made the platform shake. It twisted around one last time, managing to swipe Lini with one massive paw. She flew back, slamming into the ground with a cry, but she struggled back to her feet.

“Just a bit more!” Aksai growled, pouring his remaining strength into his swords. He unleashed a final, powerful flying slash aimed directly at the core, putting every ounce of his Spirit essence and Qi into the attack.

The dual-layered slash hit its mark. The green core cracked, splintered, then shattered in a burst of energy. The bear let out a final roar, its body unraveling into the vines and branches from which it had formed, before finally disappearing into a scattered pile of leaves and dirt.

Aksai staggered, barely managing to stay on his feet. His arms hung heavy at his sides, his chest heaving with each breath.

Blood dripped from several cuts along his arms and legs, and he could feel bruises forming where the bear’s attacks had come too close.

It could be said that Aksai was in a real sorry state despite his recent breakthrough.

But the 4th stage had been cleared.