Aksai might have been intelligent, but others were no less capable than him.
At the very least, Spirit cultivators with deeper backgrounds and stronger foundations could be just as cunning as he was, if not even more so.
His instincts had saved him this time. But he couldn't always rely on them, especially against opponents who possessed methods capable of deceiving even the instincts of cautious cultivators like him.
Judging by the variety of talismans the Empire seemed to possess in abundance, such methods were entirely possible.
He needed to act with even greater caution and care in the future. He could no longer assume that other cultivators would be easy to manipulate.
It wasn't that Aksai had failed to take precautions when fighting Kalina. On the contrary, he had carefully planned every step before the battle even began.
However, his biggest mistake had been assuming that Kalina possessed only the strength she had displayed against the Purple River Lord.
