A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

The Verdant Elder slowly opened its mouth.

A low hum escaped from deep within its throat, followed by a strange breath.

A thick, pale fog spilled out and spread across the area like flowing water. The fog was quiet, soft, and heavy.

Aksai narrowed his eyes as he watched from inside the tree. He didn't move. He focused and soon realized something strange about the fog.

'Hm? This fog… isn't it a sedative?'

The Spirit farmer quickly realized something using his unique Qi Sense. It wasn't just mist. It had a dulling effect. His senses, especially his smell and hearing, were being slightly numbed even from a distance.

He understood it then—the Verdant Elder was using the fog to sedate its prey. It wanted to dull the senses of whatever was in the cave before making a move. The fog slowly crept toward the cave, slipping into the entrance like a living thing.

Aksai stayed hidden and waited.

Soon after, the Verdant Elder's huge body began to change. The beast shrank from its towering 16-foot height down to a more manageable 6 feet. It still looked strong and heavy, but now it was small enough to enter the cave without much trouble.

The Verdant Elder stepped into the cave. For a few moments, there was silence.

Then came a deep, rumbling roar—a bear's roar, full of anger and pain.

Another roar followed, this one stranger and sharper—it was the Verdant Elder's.

Aksai focused his Qi Sense and followed the energy fluctuations inside the cave. Spirit energy surged from both sides. The bear inside was using earth-element Spirit spells. He felt the ground shift slightly, as if something was moving under the soil.

Aksai was a bit surprised that a 2nd Order demon beast could produce such a tremor using a simple and quick Spirit spell. He realized that there was something different with the way the spell had been used. However, he discarded the distracting thoughts and focused on the battle between the two beasts.

The Verdant Elder responded with wood, earth, water, and even fire element Spirit spells. Aksai had read that it could use all four. With that kind of versatility and preparation, Aksai thought this would be a quick and easy hunt.

But then came a shock.

A massive body shot out from the cave entrance like a rock thrown by a giant. It was the Verdant Elder. Its large body smashed into the vine-and-branch dome with a heavy crash, shaking the entire structure. The thick vines held, but the beast slid down them and hit the ground hard.

It let out a loud, guttural roar—filled with rage and pain—as it glared at the cave.

Aksai's gaze followed it. His eyes widened.

From the cave emerged not one bear, but five. All of them were large, strong, and glowing with Spirit essence layers around them. But that wasn't all.

Five female bears came out too, standing side by side with their mates.

Behind them, small bear cubs peeked out. The adult bears roared at them, driving them back into the cave, protecting them.

'No way… this… this was a setup for this damn tortoise beast.'

Aksai's heart sank. He finally understood what had happened.

The bear-type demon beasts had figured out that something—or someone—was hunting them, one by one. So they had done something unusual for their kind. They had come together, letting go of their usual solitary habits, to lay a trap.

They had kept one bear near the surface to act as bait. The others had hidden, using their own methods to stay undetected. They waited patiently for the hunter to arrive.

And when the Verdant Elder entered the cave, they struck. Aksai stared in silence, filled with awe and disbelief.

So this was why wild beasts that could cast Spirit spells were called demon beasts by the cultivators of Dadangar. It wasn't just their strength. It was their cunning.

As they grew stronger and more aware, they could think, plan, and even work together to protect their own. They were no longer just wild beasts. They were thinking, clever, and dangerous.

They could act like real demons if and when needed to be. The 4th Order demon beasts were practically no different from humans in a lot of ways.

One of the male bears, the largest among them, stepped forward. His thick fur bristled and his chest heaved with a deep growl. Then, with a thunderous roar that shook the forest, he stood on his hind legs and raised his massive front limbs high into the air.

With all his strength, he smashed them down onto the ground.

The earth trembled.

A powerful shockwave burst out in all directions, sending dust and loose leaves flying. The fog that had filled the area stirred, then broke apart near the ground, rising up and curling away as if pushed by a heavy wind.

The bears that had started to sway slightly from the effects of the sedative fog suddenly shook their heads, blinking clearly. Some only had their vision slightly compromised. But thanks to the lead bear's countermeasure, their eyes locked back onto the Verdant Elder with renewed focus.

The fog was still there—hanging above them like a ceiling of smoke—but it no longer touched the ground. It floated just beneath the top of the vine-and-branch dome, trapped there. Some kind of barrier had been formed within the domain to separate the fog from the battle below.

Aksai watched from within the tree, eyes narrowed in focus.

'This…. I've really learned a lot of things regarding the demon beasts ever since I entered the Eternal Beast Dynasty. The beasts in this part of the forest really are more clever than the ordinary ones in the Duya Forest.

The way this bear family is acting. That's not just strength. That's teamwork,' he thought to himself.

He had seen one of the female bears step forward just a breath after the shockwave. She had raised her paw and slammed it into the ground too, but her Spirit energy had been different—lighter, more fluid.

A defensive spell. She'd supported the main bear's strike by shaping the energy, creating a layer that pushed the fog upward and sealed it at the top of the dome.

This wasn't an ordinary group of demon beasts. They were a family, a clan. A unit that had trained and fought together.

This was bad news for the Verdant Elder.

Aksai could tell by sensing the Spirit energy of each bear that all ten of them were in the 2nd Order. None of them were weak.

Some were mid-stage. Some were even late-stage. Even Aksai would have to run away after looking at this line up if he doesn't have any of his Trump Cards to rely on.

And when they worked together like this, even a powerful hybrid beast like the Verdant Elder was in danger.

The Verdant Elder stood still for a moment, as if processing what had just happened. His breath was heavy and slow. His shell gleamed under the dim light filtering through the vines. The runes etched into his back pulsed faintly, one after the other, in a slow rhythm.

Then he roared.

It was a sharp, shrill roar that rang through the dome like a blade cutting through metal.

His mouth opened wide, showing rows of sharp teeth. His eyes glowed bright red, filled with fire and unshaken resolve. He didn't back away. He didn't try to escape.

Instead, he lowered his head slightly and slammed one of his forelegs into the ground, creating a crack that spread under him like lightning.

He resumed his regular form instantly. His thick tail, ending in a snake's head, writhed and hissed behind him, ready to strike.

The Verdant Elder was used to make his prey fall into his dome-shaped trap. However, tables had been turned on him. He was outnumbered. He had fallen into a trap. But he had no intention of backing down.

Roar!

The moment the Verdant Elder roared again, the fight began.

The ten bears split into two groups—five males and five females. The males charged forward, their large bodies thundering across the forest floor. The females stayed behind and began casting support-type Spirit spells.

One of the female bears raised her paw, and a wave of water shot forward, wrapping around the legs of the Verdant Elder like vines. Another followed it up with a cold wind spell, freezing the water solid.

The Verdant Elder's legs were now locked in place.

But not for long.

With a growl, he pulled one of his legs free and slammed it down. The frozen water cracked and shattered.

His shell glowed with earthen light as he activated a defense spell—thick rock armor formed beneath his shell and covered his legs, making him look like a walking boulder.

From the front, three male bears came in fast, their bodies surrounded by swirling Spirit energy. One was using fire. Another used wind. The third used lightning.

They jumped together, attacking with sharp claws coated in their respective elements. Fire exploded on contact.

Wind blades slashed at the shell. Lightning sparked against the ground and bounced off the shell's surface.

The Verdant Elder let out a grunt as his massive shell took the hits. It cracked slightly at one spot—but it held.

Then he fought back.