A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Chapter 550: A Well-regulated Form of Berserker Mode Using Qi Energy

The elders reacted quickly, unleashing walls of stone and waves of fire, but the boars didn’t slow.

Their scales resisted the flames. Their hooves crushed through the stone.

The boars couldn’t use movement-type Spirit spells like humans. However, they could use their powerful raw strength to charge straight at an unbelievable pace, mimicking the effects of the Spirit spell with their pure physical prowess alone.

Of course, the boars’ straight charge was easy to read once someone got familiar with it. But since nobody had seen these types of boars in the Dadangar Subcontinent, Aksai’s opponents were caught off guard.

One elder was sent flying into a tree as a boar headbutted him straight into the trunk, cracking it in half.

Another tried to fly into the air, only to be slammed back down by a boar leaping higher than any normal beast could. The ground shook again as the battle intensified.

Aksai yawned.

On the back of his boar, Aksai looked up at the misty sky and smiled to himself.

“These boars are more useful than I thought. Why was I traveling on foot? I should start using them as mounts in this region.”

Below him, one of the elders screamed as he was caught in a brutal charge. Another tried to use an earth-type binding spell, only for the boar to crush it with sheer physical force.

It wasn’t that the attackers were weaker than Aksai’s previous enemies. In fact, they displayed better coordination than the group he had trapped inside the wood-element dome-shaped barrier and killed earlier.

But they never even got the chance to show how powerful they were as Spirit cultivators. Their spells were too slow. Too predictable.

This had always been the advantage of those who used Qi energy over those who only made use of the Spirit spells—speed, stamina, and relentlessness.

In most situations, the Spirit cultivators could only win against such opponents by keeping a safe distance. If they failed to do that, they would be overwhelmed by an unstoppable storm of brute-force attacks.

These boars were genetically modified to harness Qi energy naturally. They didn’t need to cultivate or eat any special resources. Their modified genetic code allowed them to use Qi energy instinctively through the red-scaled armor on their bodies.

They could also protect their vital organs using Qi energy on their own. The evolutionary changes Aksai had made had turned them into hunters who could switch between offense and defense with natural precision.

This was the power of the bloodline transformation Aksai had achieved with the Red Horn Boars. After their transformation, he began calling them Red Scale Boars, due to the exoskeleton-like reddish scales that now covered their bodies.

Aksai had trained his boars well. These were no longer ordinary demon beasts—they were monsters of war. They knew how to attack in groups and how to coordinate with one another. They didn’t have many Spirit spells, but they knew exactly when and how to use them for maximum effect.

Most importantly, these beasts were like mutants in the Dadangar Subcontinent. They were likely the only demon beasts that could actively use Qi energy.

Most other demon beasts were blessed with a high amount of Qi energy compared to Spirit cultivators, but their Qi energy stayed dormant and only activated during life-threatening moments—usually in a very inefficient way.

For example, when Aksai’s demon bears entered their berserker mode, they were unknowingly tapping into their dormant Qi reserves. But without a proper way to use that energy, they only boosted their physical stats for a short while—followed by exhaustion, weakness, and extreme muscle fatigue.

The demon boars, however, were different.

Genetically modified and trained in the isolated space of the Enchanted Everwood Farm, they could regulate their Qi energy well. Their bloodlines gave them natural talents that let them channel Qi energy into both attack and defense while also making them smart enough to understand the need of the moment.

They could also use it to cast Spirit spells more efficiently and with better precision than regular beasts.

Instead of exhausting their Qi in one big burst, they used it gradually, avoiding the burnout and negative side effects of berserk transformations.

***

A few minutes later.

Aksai didn’t even move from his position and his enemies were already almost taken care of.

“Five of you came after me… and this is all you brought?” he murmured. “I almost feel insulted.”

By this time, only one elder remained standing, bloodied and staggering. The others were unconscious or buried in the muddy swamp.

The last remaining elder of the Iron Mountain Sect stood still, his legs trembling, his chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath.

His robes were torn, soaked in blood, and his Spirit essence was nearly exhausted. Around him, the marshland was filled with thick purple mist and the scent of blood.

He stared at Aksai, his eyes wide with shock, fear, and disbelief.

“You… you were a beast tamer?” he asked, his voice shaking. “The reports about you had no mention of this fact. And… what kind of demon beasts are these?”

Aksai didn’t reply right away. Instead, he smiled calmly. He got up and stretched his arms. Standing tall on the back of one of his demon boars, he slowly raised his right hand and pointed a finger directly at the elder.

The elder’s heart dropped.

In the next instant, three demon boars charged toward him with thunderous steps. Their heavy bodies crushed the marsh ground as they split apart and attacked from three different directions.

The elder tried to activate a defensive artifact hidden beneath his robe, but before it could light up, the first two boars had already reached him.

He tried to use his flying sword to fly away at the last moment but that escape was blocked when he saw the wood-element vines sprouting all around him and dancing in a threatening manner like the multiple limbs of a deep sea monster.

The elder gave up on escaping.

He dodged left, avoiding the first boar. Then he ducked low to escape the second. Just when he thought he had a small chance to activate his movement-type Spirit spell and escape, the third demon boar appeared in front of him, charging at full force.

The third boar’s thick, scaled head slammed into the elder’s chest, lifting him off his feet. At the same time, the boar released a Spirit spell from its mouth—a burst of wind-force shaped like a spinning spiral. The spell hit him midair, knocking him down to the muddy ground.

The elder groaned in pain. His limbs twitched as he tried to move, but the damage was too much. Blood oozed from his mouth as he gasped for breath.

One of the demon boars walked up to him and, to the elder’s shock, bent its head down and nudged the elder’s waist with its snout. He made use of the horn as a tool.

From under the elder’s long robes, the boar pulled out a small token-like artifact that had been tied to a chain around his waist.

The token was dark and round, with strange carvings on it—Essence Equation runes shaped like a mountain filled with eyes and ears. A spy artifact.

Before the elder could react, the demon boar lifted its front leg and smashed the token into pieces.

The elder stared in disbelief. “No… how did you… how did you know about that artifact?” he asked weakly. “How did you know I was trying to gather information from you?”

Aksai stepped down from the back of the boar and walked over slowly. His face was calm, but his eyes were sharp. He looked at the elder like someone who had already won.

“Do you really think it was a coincidence that you found me here, in the middle of the Purple Poison Marshland?” Aksai asked quietly. “I already knew you were coming for me.”

He chuckled lightly.

“So why wouldn’t I know about the kind of spy tools your Iron Mountain Sect uses to collect information from its enemies? I’m still surprised, though. As far as I knew, the attack from the Iron Mountain Sect was supposed to happen a few days later. And the team of elders mentioned in the information wasn’t you.

Earlier, I thought you acted too fast instead of waiting to set up a proper ambush. But now that I think about it… I don’t believe that’s the case. You were only traveling through this region and happened to find me by accident, didn’t you? Your real mission was something else.

You attacked me only because you wanted to claim the bounty your sect must have placed on me. The team actually assigned to target me personally isn’t you.”

The elder’s eyes went wide. He gasped. “There… there’s a mole among us,” he whispered, as if finally realizing something he should’ve known sooner.

Aksai laughed. “Hahaha. Old man, you’re not as dumb as you look. But unfortunately, we got off on the wrong foot. I’m a kind man, truly. But I’m not stupid enough to leave enemies alive after they try to kill me.”

He sighed, his smile still present but colder now.

He raised his hand once more and pointed down at the elder. “Finish him.”

The demon boars roared in unison and stomped forward. Their legs came crashing down with a heavy thud.

The elder let out one last cry of pain before his chest caved in from the force of the blow. His heart was crushed.

The ground trembled as the boars stomped down again and again, making sure there was nothing left.

Aksai stood there, calm and unbothered, while the screams faded into silence and the mist rolled in once more.

“Hmm. Time to find out what you were trying to do here from the beginning.”

Aksai said as he looked at the four storage rings he had acquired from his recently fallen opponents—legit loot.