Chapter 520: First Batch of Woodland Creatures: Demon Bears Strengthened by Three Paths of Spirit, Qi, & Aether

Aksai couldn’t hold back his laughter.

He looked at the faces of the four sect elders and burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! What’s with those expressions?” he said. “You all look like you want to complain to someone about the way I trapped you “unfairly” when it was you who decided to attack me in the first place.”

He pointed toward the massive demon beast standing calmly beside him.

“By the way, let me tell you this. Verdant Elder is also not your opponent. Not really.”

His words dropped like stones into a silent pond. Then, with a flick of his fingers, a sharp snap echoed inside the wooden dome.

In the very next moment, six massive figures stepped out from the shadows around him. Each step they took made a soft thud against the ground.

These were no ordinary beasts. They were genetically modified demon bears.

The sect elders’ eyes widened as they took in the sight. These bears were taller than 12 feet and carried a strange mix of wild strength and unnatural calmness.

Their bodies looked like they had grown alongside trees—thick, bark-like plates of wood covered parts of their limbs, shoulders, and backs. Some even had moss growing along their hides, glowing softly with Spirit essence.

Aksai turned toward the sect elders, clearly pleased with their reactions.

“Ah, yes. Meet my little demon bear squad,” he said with a proud tone, like a researcher introducing their invention.

After all, these demon bears were strengthened and matured in a synthetic way under Aksai’s “care” in the Enchanted Everwood Farm.

The six demon bears were just cubs not long ago. He had picked them up after a fight between the Verdant Elder here and a family of bears.

It was Verdant Elder who killed the cubs’ parents. And Aksai had made them fight together at this point.

He looked over at the demon bears with a thoughtful look before continuing.

“Their bloodlines have been altered using various inheritances I have. Some of it from druidic techniques I have with me from the very beginning, some of it from the Heretic Dao knowledge I got my hands on much later on.

Their Soul Spaces have been fine-tuned too. Their dormant Aether essences have also been modified a bit to make their souls bode well with the vessel bloodline transformation. That’s why they’re calm, even more intelligent than most top-tier 2nd Order demon beasts now.”

Aksai smiled as he placed his hands behind his back.

“They’re stronger than their parents ever were. After experiencing tremendous pain through the bloodline experiment hell they were made to go through, their Spirit cultivation has reached the 2nd Order.

And they’re smarter than any other regular demon beasts of their realm. So much so that they can cast Spirit spells like regular Spirit cultivators.

That means they don’t have to rely on their bloodline Spirit spells anymore. They now have the freedom to learn any Spirit spell they want and need like any other regular Foundation Building Expert while boasting the durability of their beastly bodies.

But…” he said, pausing for a moment.

“…they’re still inexperienced when it comes to on-field battle experience. Although I have taught them some martial arts, Spirit spells, and other things, they don’t know what it means to fight for real. They lack battlefield instincts.”

He turned toward the sect elders and tilted his head.

“That’s where you come in. You see, the six of you will be their opponents. You’ll help them learn how to fight properly. Think of yourselves as their practice targets.”

The sect elders stiffened. One of them clenched his fists.

Aksai raised a hand gently.

“Now, now. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to demean you by making you fight these test subjects of mine.

But you have to understand—I’m a researcher, and I need real-time data. At the same time, I don’t want my test subjects to die. Not really. At least, not all of them in a short time.

These six cubs are still very young. And as clever as I’ve raised them to be, they are still immature.

I want them to experience the brutal realities of life, but at the same time, I don’t want them to face real danger. Does that make sense? Isn’t that what all parents think when raising their children?

Hehe. Maybe I really am a good mama bear. I don’t know. Anyway, safety is paramount. That’s the first rule I have for any sentient creature working under me.

Being a sneaky and crafty Foundation Building Expert myself, I know how cunning Spirit cultivators can be—especially when fighting against simple-minded demon beasts.

Plus, Spirit cultivators can use Spirit artifacts, alchemy items, talismans, and other such trump cards. My experimental subjects can’t do that yet.

That’s why the Verdant Elder and the Scarecrow Fiends will stand by to protect the six demon bears. They won’t interfere unless one of my bears is in danger.”

He gave a light sigh and looked back at the demon bears.

“There’s a reason I’m being this cautious, you know. I already lost one of the demon bear cubs during an experiment. I had to turn him into a puppet, but… well, that wasn’t the plan. I’d rather not lose any more.”

His tone grew firmer.

“These six are my investments. I’ve put too much effort into growing them. So the least they can do is survive.”

Then he looked at the demon bears and narrowed his eyes slightly. “Do you understand?”

To the shock of everyone in the dome, the demon bears all nodded at once. And they did it at the same time as if they were disciplined like soldiers inside an army.

It indicated that they could comprehend the language of the Dandagar Subcontinent used by the Spirit cultivators, despite being only 2nd Order demon beasts. It also showed that the modified woodland creatures could be well trained to act as capable underlings for Aksai.

Even this oddity was enough to make the sect elders realize what kind of woodland abomination Aksai had created inside his mysterious hideout.

It was like a certain black-cape-wearing champion of vigilante justice in Gothamm, with a voice that sounded like he had a sore throat, experimenting on bats in his cave and turning them into actual vampires to act as his sidekicks.

If you’re a 90s WWE fan like me, you should check out Stone Cold Steve Austin’s official Instagram. The guy’s just out there living his best life on a farm—feeding animals, riding tractors, chugging water like it’s beer. Honestly, it’s pure joy.

There’s something about that peaceful farm life… It’s every man’s quiet little dream. 🙂