'This… is actually useful,' Aksai thought.

Hours turned into more hours.

Aksai did not move.

He stayed inside the poison lake, letting it wash over him again and again. His body adapted to the pain. His senses grew sharper. His control over his own energy became more refined.

Even the Poison Beast Curse inside him stayed quiet. Instead of acting like a threat, it seemed to blend into the process, as if it had become part of the environment his body was now adapting to.

Aksai slowly opened his eyes. They looked calmer than before. He glanced at the surface of the lake and then at the faint poison fumes floating above it.

'A week…' he thought.

He then closed his eyes again and sank slightly deeper into the lake. For now, he had no reason to rush. If this place could strengthen him, then he would take everything it had to offer.

Minutes turned into hours.

By the second day, Aksai's body had already adapted to the poison lake to a certain extent. What once felt like burning pain now felt like a heavy pressure that came and went in waves. Instead of resisting it, he let it flow through him and focused on guiding it toward his second heart.

The Druid's Poison Heart beat faster and stronger than before. With each beat, it pulled in more poison essence from the lake. The absorption speed increased steadily, and soon it reached a point where the poison around Aksai started thinning at a visible rate. The dark liquid near him turned lighter, as if something was draining its strength.

Aksai sat still in the center of the lake with his eyes closed. Inside his body, the poison was being broken down and turned into pure life essence. His cultivation base and body both improved bit by bit.

By the third day, the change became even more obvious.

The lake no longer looked calm around him. It swirled slowly, as if reacting to his presence. The poison fumes above the surface gathered more thickly, forming strange shapes that twisted and moved like living things.

And then… something else moved. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Deep inside the dark poison cave, faint ripples spread across the ground and through the lake. Small creatures that had been hiding in the shadows began to stir.

Drawn by the sudden drop in poison density and the rich energy gathering around Aksai, they started moving toward him.

Aksai sensed them.

Even with his eyes closed, his awareness spread across the lake and the nearby cave. He could feel multiple small presences approaching from different directions. Some slithered through cracks in the rocks, while others crawled along the cave walls or swam beneath the surface of the lake.

He did not open his eyes. Instead, he decided to delegate the tasks.

A faint flash of green light appeared beside him, and in the next moment, a large figure emerged from it.

Zyn.

The Poison Wyvern let out a low growl as it spread its wings slightly. Its body was covered in dark green scales that shone faintly under the dim light of the cave. Its eyes glowed with a sharp and cold intelligence.

It looked at Aksai for a brief moment and understood everything. There was no need for words.

Zyn turned its head toward the approaching beasts, and its gaze turned fierce. The air around its mouth began to gather poison energy.

The first group of beasts rushed forward. They were small, twisted creatures, mostly 1st and 2nd Order poison beasts that had been living in the cave for a long time.

Zyn opened its mouth.

A stream of thick, dark poison breath burst out and swept across the cave.

The creatures did not even get a chance to react. The poison engulfed them, melting their bodies and crushing their life force in an instant. Some tried to flee, but Zyn moved swiftly, striking them down with its claws and tail.

More beasts came from other directions.

Zyn did not slow down.

It moved through the cave with ease, its large body flowing like a shadow. Every attack was simple but deadly. A swipe of its claw, a snap of its jaws, or another wave of poison breath was enough to end the lives of the weaker beasts.

Soon, the cave floor was littered with corpses. Zyn did not leave them there.

Using its control over poison energy, it gathered the dead bodies and dragged them toward the lake. One by one, it dropped them into the dark water.

The lake reacted immediately.

The corpses dissolved quickly, turning into more poison essence that spread through the water. The lake grew richer, denser, and more active.

At the center of it all, Aksai remained unmoved.

He continued to absorb the poison essence without pause. The added energy only made his second heart beat faster. The flow of power inside his body became stronger, pushing his limits further.

Zyn stood guard nearby, its sharp eyes scanning the surroundings for any new threats.

There was no fear in Aksai's heart. With a 4th Order beast like Zyn protecting him, the small creatures of this cave posed no real danger. He trusted his tamed beast completely.

And so, he focused only on one thing. Absorbing. Growing. Becoming stronger.

The third day passed quietly after the small beasts were dealt with. Zyn stayed nearby like a silent guard, while Aksai remained seated inside the poison lake, fully focused on his cultivation.

As the fourth day began, the changes inside his body became more obvious.

The Druid's Poison Heart beat with a steady rhythm, drawing in more and more poison essence from the lake. What started as a steady flow had now turned into a rapid stream. The poison around him swirled faster, as if being pulled into a whirlpool centered on his body.

Each beat refined the poison and turned it into pure life essence. This energy spread through his meridians and dantian, strengthening both his Spirit cultivation and his body.

The Poison Druid's aura slowly started to rise.

A breakthrough was imminent.