A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Chapter 746: Meeting the Fallen Dao Beast

The woodland clone walked slowly toward the pyramid.

Each step it took was careful, almost stiff, as if it could feel the weight of the place pressing down on it.

Due to the presence of the fallen dao beast, the pyramid itself felt like a giant beast slumbering. Even the plants nearby looked dull and lifeless, as though they did not wish to grow close to it.

When the clone reached the base of the pyramid, it stopped.

The stairs rose upward in neat lines, carved from dark stone. Strange runes were etched into every step. They looked old and sharp, like they had been cut by something far more dangerous than metal.

For a moment, the clone hesitated. Aksai, watching through the clone’s senses, felt his heart tighten. He even wondered why someone like him would take such risks to come here no matter how successful he had gotten during his last close-door cultivation. Was it his fate to come here?

“I am already here. And I think I can at least escape from this place even if I get severely injured in the process. Plus, I can always retreat to my homebase. As such, I might as well go on,” he whispered, more to himself than to the clone. The woodland clone lifted one foot and stepped onto the first stair.

The moment its foot touched the stone, the runes lit up.

A soft glow spread across the step, then moved upward like flowing water. As the clone took another step, more runes lit up. With each step forward, the light grew brighter, and the pressure grew stronger.

Aksai felt it clearly. Something was looking at him. Or rather, looking through him. It was the pyramid itself. A name also popped up in Aksai’s consciousness through his clone– Heavenly Poison Pyramid.

The Heavenly Poison Pyramid was not just judging the clone’s body. It was peering into his essence, his soul, and his path. Memories stirred. Choices he had made. Powers he had taken. The druidic blessings he had unlocked. Secrets he had buried deep inside himself.

It felt like standing naked under a cold sky.

Then the voice returned.

“Oh? So you are a former human turned druid? It seems your bloodline still needs a bit of refinement. But it is still commendable that you managed to awaken so many druidic blessings at such a young age. How rare, especially considering this place.”

The voice was calm and gentle, yet it sent a chill through Aksai’s spine. The woodland clone froze on the stairs. Aksai’s breath caught.

“Hmm. You are a cautious little fellow. So I won’t ask you how you managed to become a druid, lest I scare you by asking about your secrets. But don’t you fear the Dao of Heaven conspiring against you?” the voice continued. “And other races targeting you for being what you are?”

The words were spoken softly, but they hit hard.

Aksai felt a cold shiver run through him. His druidic senses trembled, and even his calm mind wavered for a moment. It seemed that the fallen dao beast knew a lot more about being a druid than he did.

“What… what do you mean?” Aksai asked before he could stop himself.

His voice echoed faintly through the bond with the woodland clone. The runes on the stairs pulsed once more, brighter than before, as if the pyramid itself was waiting for his answer.

A soft chuckle echoed from the top of the pyramid. It was low and slow, carrying no mockery, yet it made Aksai’s skin prickle.

“Little fellow,” the fallen dao beast said gently, “you must be well familiar with your druidic powers by now, right?”

The woodland clone took another careful step upward. The runes beneath its feet glowed again, steady and watchful.

“Do you think,” the voice continued, “that the power to play with the life essence of yourself and others is something the Dao of Heaven will look upon kindly?”

Aksai felt his throat go dry.

“Well,” the fallen dao beast said after a short pause, “you are not strong enough yet to truly worry about the Dao of Heaven. To it, you are still an ant. An ant so small that it is not even worth noticing.”

The words should have been comforting.

They were not.

“But,” the voice went on calmly, “if you were to be caught by other races, they would not let you go so easily. They would stop your heart from beating first. Only then would they feel safe.”

The woodland clone slowed its steps.

Aksai felt a tight knot form in his chest.

“Let’s just say this,” the fallen dao beast said, sounding thoughtful. “Druids have earned a very bad name over time. Many of them used forbidden Spirit spells and cruel techniques. They took advantage of their natural talent and treated life essence like a tool.”

The air around the pyramid felt colder.

“Some druids went so far as to hunt Spirit cultivators and mortals alike,” the voice continued. “They drained life without care and became monsters that could not be stopped.”

Aksai’s mind buzzed.

“Because of them,” the fallen dao beast said, “all druids were judged the same. Bloodlines, past good deeds, none of it mattered. Every race joined hands to hunt them down.”

The runes on the stairs dimmed slightly, as if listening.

“When the killings became too much,” the voice said quietly, “the remaining druids fought back. But many of them chose corruption. They became even more ruthless, caring nothing for life as long as they gained power.”

A slow sigh followed.

“Hate gave birth to more hate,” the fallen dao beast said. “And now, druids are few. Very few. One could say Heaven’s Mandate also played a role in their fall. But in the end, it always comes down to choices. The path one decides to walk.”

By the time the voice fell silent, the woodland clone had nearly reached the top of the pyramid.

Aksai almost felt dizzy by a load of new information.

’The fuc*ck! So there were downsides of being druids as well? All because we are too good at what we do? Damn it. I would have never become a druid if I knew that I’d be targeted by others for reasons that have gone beyond my control.’

It was as if he had been thrown into an icy lake without warning. The cold truth wrapped around him, heavy and crushing. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe, let alone swim back up.

No one had told him this. Not his ancestor Amel Everwood. Not the Spirit Guardian of the Holy Land Torel. Not even Yelia had warned him about the price, the fear, or the hatred tied to the path he had chosen.

The final steps loomed ahead.

And for the first time since becoming a druid, Aksai truly felt that the world was plotting against him and it was not his imagination anymore.

By this point, the woodland clone finally stepped onto the top floor of the Heavenly Poison Pyramid.

The space made Aksai pause.

From the outside, the pyramid had looked large but limited. From the inside, the top floor felt vast, far bigger than it should have been. The walls stretched far away, and the ceiling was high and hidden in faint purple mist. Space manipulation runes were carved everywhere, bending distance and size in a quiet, steady way.

In the center of the floor lay a massive serpentine corpse.

Its body coiled around itself like a fallen mountain of scales. The snake was so large that even its still form filled most of the space. It had clearly been dead for a very long time, yet its body had not rotted at all. The scales still shone faintly, carrying a dark purple glow.

Deep wounds covered its body.

Some looked torn open by force. Others seemed burned or eaten away by poison. From these injuries flowed thick purple blood. The blood did not spill randomly. It moved slowly, guided by unseen force, spreading across the floor in thin streams.

The Heavenly Poison Pyramid drank it all.

Every drop that touched the floor was absorbed into the runes beneath. Each time a certain amount of purple blood vanished, a Spirit formation carved into the ground lit up for a brief moment before going dim again.

It was like watching a giant container being filled, endlessly.

What disturbed Aksai the most was the heart.

Even though the snake was clearly dead, its chest still rose and fell slightly. Deep inside its body, the heart continued to beat. Slow. Heavy. Each beat pushed fresh purple blood through veins that should have been dry long ago.

The body was surprisingly full of vitality. And yet, none of the wounds healed. It was as if life itself had been trapped, forced to work without purpose.

The woodland clone’s gaze slowly moved upward.

At the top of the snake’s massive head sat a stunningly beautiful woman.