Introspection

"First of all, I lack combat experience."

Aksai reflected as he surveyed the plants he had cultivated inside the Everwood farm for the past two weeks. Some of the plants had already matured and awaited harvest.

"Secondly, I don't possess battle-centric Spirit Spells at all. The Spirit Spells I used on my enemies are more of support-type Spirit spells that have been forcefully turned into attack-type Spells by using them in combination with the help of the neural link fabric."

Aksai paced around his farm, hands clasped behind his back, pondering his recent deadly encounter with the three enemies.

"Thirdly, I lack a good offensive and defensive artifact.

Lastly, I lack a technique that can alter my appearance without resorting to an appearance-changing pill. Not to mention the fact that it is expensive, the pill has numerous limitations and side effects on the body."

Aksai concluded, rubbing his stomach.

One of the side effects of the appearance-changing pill was dysentery.

Aksai felt as if someone had turned on a grinder inside his stomach, which was slowly gaining speed and producing a lot of churning noises.

Fortunately, Aksai was in a secure place, allowing him to relieve himself as needed.

He could also use his own "produce" as compost to expedite the growth of his plants. He just hoped that the spirits of his Everwood ancestors didn't mind the use of "traditional farming techniques" inside the farm.

"I can't go to Lakir City anytime soon," Aksai mused aloud, gazing at the twilight-like sky overhead, obscured by a smoke-like screen. He took a deep breath before continuing. 

"The 7th layer of the Basic Greenwood Tantra is sufficient for now. But I can't commence my Spirit bloodline experiments without capturing 'guinea pigs'. To catch them alive, I need to attain a sufficient level of strength.

Additionally, I need to find better Spirit seeds to plant inside the farm. I'll need sufficient funds to buy them too.

I'll also require various supportive-type Spirit Spells to maximize the farm's potential. The Spirit Rain, Earth Control, and Wood Expedite are only the most basic kinds. It would be foolish to only depend on them when I'm planning to use special Spirit seeds.

However, all my plans currently exceed my capabilities. I need to first accept that I'm weak. I can't use my instincts as a Spirit farmer and hope to win against cultivators who have been molded by their bloody circumstances to act like perfect killing machines.

At my 7th stage of Spirit Refining, I'm merely a small ant outside this safe haven. My automated Mudra-casting would only work as a surprise attack once.

However, the veteran cultivators would come up with various ways to counter it if the battle stretches for more than I want it to be. They could also choose to run away and escape my Spirit spell's range, which would put me at a disadvantage for a different reason.

Not to mention, I'm always alone. And like most average lone cultivators, I'll be at a disadvantage once an enemy who is good in close combat manages to come very close to me. A defensive artifact also has limits. I can't depend on it if and when the close combatant has ways to get around its defensive capabilities. 

Even with the advantage of the neural link fabric, I doubt I'll ascend to the 8th stage of Spirit Refining anytime soon. So, what else can I do to enhance my battle power?" Aksai contemplated aloud.

Aksai then remembered the mysterious book he had discovered in the Everwood farmhouse and resolved to begin practicing a particular set of techniques from it.

These techniques pertained to body cultivation and martial arts. There was also a technique inside the book that turned corpses into Scarecrow puppets.

"I guess I can practice the 7th layer of the Basic Greenwood Tantra at night. During the day, I can make use of the body cultivation techniques shown in the book to increase my battle potential.

I don't know how much I can improve or if the techniques listed in the book will have a beneficial effect on my Spirit cultivation or not. However, I can say for certain that it wouldn't negatively affect my Spirit cultivation for the most part. After all, unlike the regular cultivators, I can make use of automated cultivation. It not only saves my time but also saves mental stamina. I can redirect that energy and time to studying body cultivation techniques and martial arts," Aksai thought to himself and started planning ahead.

***

During the last two weeks, Aksai had learned many things about his family inheritance. The enhancements offered to Spirit farming by the Everwood farm were obviously the core part of this inheritance.

However, the mysterious book he had obtained when he was first teleported inside the Everwood farm also held significant importance in Aksai's eyes. This was the same book that recorded information related to Spirit bloodlines and methods for their extraction and implantation.

Initially, Aksai thought he wouldn't need the book anymore after recording its contents onto the neural link fabric. However, while planting new Spirit seeds inside the Everwood farm, he checked the book again on a whim.

To his surprise, the book's contents had changed when he started planting Spirit seeds. The information on Spirit bloodlines had been erased and replaced by a comprehensive body cultivation method.

Additionally, there was a simple and straightforward martial art technique that could be used in combination with body cultivation.

During the last two weeks, Aksai had asked around and found that nobody in Wuyum County practiced body cultivation methods. Most had never heard of it, while some believed it to be outdated and less effective compared to Spirit cultivation.

Aksai could only blame his environment for the lack of background information. Almost everyone he knew was a Spirit farmer with little time or resources to practice anything else.

Furthermore, body cultivation methods were considered useless by Spirit cultivators since they only increased physical strength and didn't extend lifespan.

Even a regular mid-stage Spirit Refiner could live up to 100 years, maintaining their strength and agility for the most part. Late-stage Spirit Refiners could stay fit and fine for up to 120 years, setting them apart from most mortals.

Body cultivation methods were renowned for granting explosive offensive capabilities to their practitioners. These individuals often engaged in close combat with cultivator counterparts to secure victory, exploiting the frailty of most cultivators in hand-to-hand combat.

However, utilizing Lifeforce in combat often resulted in bodily harm for body cultivators, diminishing the method's reputation for extending lifespan.

Moreover, the Dadangar subcontinent, divided into five kingdoms where Aksai resided, lacked a complete body cultivation inheritance. Spirit cultivation not only prolonged lifespan but also enabled cultivators to refine their bodies with each breakthrough on the Immortal path.

It was believed that all paths of cultivation intersected at certain points. This implied that Spirit cultivators could eventually match the physical strength of body cultivators as they progressed through realms.

Thus, dedicating time and resources to body cultivation was considered redundant and wasteful. Many viewed it as a squandering of valuable resources and time that could be better spent cultivating the Immortal path and its associated fields.

Furthermore, the resources required for body cultivation techniques were said to be expensive and hard to obtain. Additionally, practitioners often endured bouts of pain and suffering during training. If injured, the healing process was also more complicated.

Most importantly, the Dadangar subcontinent lacked body cultivators whom Aksai could use as reference points or role models. Without a pre-established path, he would have to navigate the journey himself, learning from his mistakes along the way.

Aksai was particularly concerned about inadvertently creating obstacles for himself. While he had the neural link fabric to identify potential roadblocks, finding solutions would be his responsibility.

However, Aksai's Spirit cultivation wasn't flawless either. He was certain that he made numerous mistakes in that regard as well, but lacked guidance or solutions.

The Basic Greenwood Tantra was considered a "faulty script code" by the neural link fabric—functional but inefficient. In technical terms, it was akin to a bugged executable file that launched the program successfully but had numerous errors in execution.

The neural link fabric could assess the cultivation technique but could not debug it due to the lack of data. Aksai had managed to temporarily get his hands on the Advanced Greenwood Tantra from the mongoose. Thanks to that, he had increased the efficiency and potency of the Basic Greenwood Tantra by a notch.

However, if he really wanted to improve his Spirit cultivation by leaps and bounds at a rapid rate, he needed to find an even higher variant of the cultivation technique suitable for him– the Stellar Greenwood Tantra.

It was said that only the core clan members of the Lakir family were given the Stellar Greenwood Tantra to train in. Not even someone like the mongoose had it. How could Aksai get his hands on such a technique?

Given these circumstances, Aksai decided to take a chance with the body cultivation technique and martial arts recorded in the mysterious book. He believed he had nothing to lose, but success could set significant developments in motion.