Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Chapter 415: Ryker’s Mother

Sebastian Silverspire absentmindedly rolled a communication jade between his fingers as he stared out his window. He felt weirdly sentimental on this late afternoon as he awaited an urgent message from Rykerʼs mother. All he knew was that something had happened in the Silverspire family, and he needed to be informed about it.

He let out a small sigh. Itʼs hard not to think such matters pale compared to this sight.

Despite the intense rainfall, darkened clouds, and the mountain range between them, it was almost impossible to ignore Ashlock—the demonic spirit tree he once called the immortal that lorded over the Ashfallen Sect. Whatever illusion array that had once shrouded the peak in mystery was gone—now there was only a constant rotating wall of mist that obscured the gap between the demonic trees encircling the peak that were flaring with varying affinities of their own.

What was on full display was the top half of Ashlock. His towering height made the White Stone Palace Sebastian currently resided in feel small, and the spirit treeʼs canopy seemed to fan out in all directions, shielding the entire peak. Divine energy arced between his branches like lightning, but one couldnʼt ignore the foreboding presence that dominated the whole area as if warning off people from getting too close lest they wish to be brought to ruin.

The spirit tree had, without a doubt, become a godly figure worshiped by many. When Sebastian arrived here, Darklight City seemed as rundown as he had anticipated, and the Redclaw familyʼs ruling over it was weak. What he hadnʼt expected was to discover an upstart alchemy group that would very quickly turn into the powerhouse known today as the Ashfallen Trading Company.

Looking back on it, I still canʼt believe I went through with it. During negotiations, they wore masks to hide their expressions. Grand Elder Diana, who seemed like a savvy businesswoman back then, offered us a percentage of profits in exchange for all of the starting funds Rykerʼs mother had provided him. The shady part was that the offered percentage went down the longer we took to decide. Truly, these were the tactics of a scammer, but we were desperate, and by some grace of the heavens, it worked out.

Sebastian glanced over his shoulder at his young master diligently cultivating atop a pile of Qi-filled silver. The boyʼs hair rhythmically pulsed as a silver aura swirled around him. The throne of silver slowly dimmed in the process but would be replaced by the evening.

He sure is getting through a ridiculous amount of silver, but itʼs not like he canʼt afford it. After only a few months, heʼs likely wealthier than entire branch families of the Silverspire family despite only being five years old. Heʼs already at my level of cultivation. Sebastian frowned. Thatʼs quite embarrassing for me now that I think about it. How can I continue to proudly call myself the 7th sonʼs bodyguard if he becomes stronger than me? I should practice more.

The communication jade suddenly glowed with a vibrant green light. Sebastian set it up on the windowsill and took a step back. A second later, a lifesized projection of a woman appeared between him and the window.

She stood tall and regal, her bearing exuding the effortless authority of a noble hailing from one of the most prominent families in the Blood Lotus Sect. Her hair, a shimmering cascade of pure silver, was tightly coiled into symmetrical buns at the sides of her head, each secured with a single golden pin inlaid with emeralds. Such a display of wealth was nothing compared to her forehead, which was fused with a detailed crown made of precious metals interwoven with gemstones. The intricate latticework seemed to capture the light, refracting it into faint rainbows that danced across her pale, flawless skin. The gems radiated subtly with a silver glow, showing her cultivation was in the Silver Core Realm.

Rykerʼs mother smiled at him.

”Sebastian, long time no see.” As she spoke, she elegantly raised her hand as if asking him to take it. The sound of her numerous adornments emphasized her movements. Delicate chains draped across her shoulders, and her many spatial rings clinked softly with every subtle movement. Long earrings dangled from her ears, almost brushing her slender neck, and her layered robes, shimmering with silver embroidery, rippled like water down her form.

Her sharp, silver-grey eyes bore into him with an intensity she didnʼt intend. They glimmered with a cold brilliance, putting anyone on the receiving end of her gaze on edge.

Sebastian gulped before gathering himself. He gave a slight bow to show his respect before mirroring her smile. ”Seeing you is a pleasure as always, Mistress.”

She shook her head, ”Sebastian, how often do I have to tell you to call me Lyriana? Enough with the formalities all the time—where is my little Ryker?”

Sebastian stepped aside and gestured to the young master, ”Cultivating as always,” he paused, ”...Lyriana.”

Lyriana clapped her hands, ”See? That wasnʼt so hard, was it?”

”No,” Sebastian grumbled, ”But it feels strange. You are the wife of the Grand Elder. Calling you by your first name is unprofessional. Iʼm just—”

”From a branch family? Blah, blah. Itʼs all nonsense.” Lyriana snorted, her regal elegance gone in an instant. ”Iʼm the wife of the Grand Elder? So what. Iʼm basically his side piece with the least power out of the wives because he has only given me a single child, and Ryker is still too young. Yet despite all that, they fear me rising up within the harem, so they conspired to send Ryker to Darklight City to ensure there was no way for him to succeed. Furthermore, they embarrass me at every opportunity, and itʼs only gotten worse since the Grand Elder entered closed-door cultivation.” Her face twisted viciously before returning to a calm expression, ”But that all ends now, Sebastian. Can you get Ryker for me? He needs to hear this.”

Sebastian nodded. He knew Lyriana had suffered greatly at the hands of the other wives of the Grand Elder due to their jealousy. With Ryker and himself sent so far away from her side to participate in the trial for who would inherit the silver core, she was alone and without much of a support network aside from some maids.

Getting Rykerʼs attention, his young masterʼs eyes opened, and a smile bloomed on his face when he laid eyes on his mother.

”Mom!” He bounced off the pile, sending silver flying everywhere.

”My boy!” Lyriana got down on one knee and held out her arms to embrace Ryker in a big hug. Sebastian mobilized the metal stream that always orbited him into the projection to give it a physical form. While cold, it allowed them to have a real hug despite the distance.

”Mom, Iʼve missed you,” Ryker said as he buried his head into her chest.

”I know, honey,” Lyriana stroked his head and ran her fingers through his silver hair, ”But donʼt worry, my boy. Mother has good news.”

Ryker swiveled his head to look into his motherʼs eyes, ”What is it?”

”Your fatherʼs tribulation has started.”

Sebastianʼs eyes widened in shock, ”Misstress?! The Grand Elder is about to step into the Golden Core Realm?”

”Itʼs Lyriana!” she pouted before sighing and nodding. ”But yes, the time has come. Within a week, the heavens will decide the Grand Elderʼs fate. Should he emerge from closed-door cultivation alive, he will have stepped into the Golden Core realm, bringing the Silver Core trial to an end. In light of this development, all scions of the house that were sent out have been ordered to return.” She looked down at Ryker with a warmth that only a parent could have, ”Itʼs time for you to come home to me.”

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”I can really come home so soon?” Ryker beamed.

Lyriana ruffled his hair with a grin, ”Yes, you rascal.”

”Hehe. This is great! Can I bring back my big sisters?” Ryker asked with a look of hope in his eyes.

”Big sisters?” Lyriana glanced at Sebastian quizzingly before mouthing, ʼWho?ʼ

Sebastian gave a weary smile, ”I think heʼs referring to his senior sisters within the Ashfallen Sect.”

”Uh huh,” Ryker nodded enthusiastically, ”Big sister Stella and Diana. I want Mom to meet them.”

”If you can convince them, I donʼt see why not?” Lyriana said carefully, ”Would there be any issues, Sebastian?”

”Errr,” he scratched his head. ”Itʼs hard to say. Stella is known as the Murder Princess around here and is the daughter of a godly being and the sect leader. She is incredibly free-spirited. The likelihood of her showing up and murdering half the family and declaring herself the new leader if she deems them an eyesore isnʼt zero.”

Lyriana blinked, ”I see... What about Diana?”

”Sheʼs a business-savvy demoness that eats heart demons for breakfast.” Sebastian shrugged, ”Sheʼs basically my boss, as she manages most of the Ashfallen Sectʼs affairs.”

Lyriana looked down at her son in concern. ”Ryker dear, how did you make such friends?”

”They are my sworn big sisters,” Ryker said confidently, ”We are more than friends. They would definitely come.”

”Sorry, Ryker. I doubt it.” Sebastian patted his young master on the shoulder, ”With the beast tide here, the Ashfallen Sect is quite busy, and those two are integral to the sect. They canʼt just leave right now to visit your home.”

Ryker gave him a defiant look, ”They will.”

”Look,” Sebastian began, but Ryker cut him off.

”No,” Ryker wrestled out of his motherʼs embrace and stormed out of the room, ”Iʼm going to ask them myself. I promise you they will come!”

”Ryker dear...” Lyrianaʼs hand fell to her side, and she shook her head, ”That boy never takes no for an answer.”

”Hard to argue with the result, though,” Sebastian chuckled.

”Yes, speaking of. How are things?” Her motherly tone was replaced with the seriousness of a high noble as she stood up and looked at the open doorway where Ryker had run off.

Sebastian mirrored his Mistressʼs tone. ”Heʼs reached the first stage of the Silver Core Realm at five years old, and as for the trial for the silver core? Letʼs just say heʼs richer than some of the smaller side branches in just a few short months. I fail to see how any of the siblings could possibly compete.” Sebastian couldnʼt help but smirk, ”Itʼs going to be an utter victory, Mistress. Your son has done the impossible.”

”Excellent, I canʼt wait to see the look on the faces of those vixens.” Lyriana beamed, ”Itʼs also thanks to your support and this Ashfallen Sect. I know you canʼt tell me much more due to the oaths you took, so Iʼm looking forward to meeting these big sisters if they happen to come. Speaking of, do you need me to arrange transport?”

Sebastian shook his head, ”Since the Ashfallen Sect isnʼt evacuating, they have some unused airships Iʼm sure I can borrow.”

”Will it be safe?” Lyriana said with concern, ”Iʼve heard a rumor that any ship thatʼs tried to enter the land to the west of Nightrose City has been wiped out by a mysterious entity. I tried looking into it more, but those vile vixens blocked me. All I know is a convoy of Azurecrest ships heading back to their peak never made it back. Thereʼs also the risk of assassins sent by the other wives after my son, Ryker.”

”Interesting. I wonder what could be out there?” Sebastian stroked his chin. Assassins were always a risk, but this new threat sounded dangerous. ”Iʼll be sure to ask the Ashfallen Sect if they have any information and to avoid that area should we travel alone. But if the Princess is with us, thereʼs nothing to fear.”

”The Princess? Why?”

Sebastian chuckled, ”Well, you see, her father is quite overprotective. I wouldnʼt be surprised if he sent a small army that could destroy the Silverspire family five times over to accompany her.”

”Gosh, five times over? How powerful has the Ashfallen Sect grown in such a short time?”

”You have access to the Eternal Pursuit Pavilionʼs records, do you not? The Ashfallen Sect is now listed as a Divine grade sect, only below the Celestial Empire.” Sebastianʼs voice dropped, ”And between you and me, I would place my bets on the Ashfallen Sect over the Celestial Order in a fight.”

Lyriana massaged her temples, ”This Stella girl is this important, and Ryker calls her his sworn big sister. Is that really alright?”

”The whims of the Princess are hard to fathom,” Sebastian glanced out the window at the godly spirit tree in the distance. ”At the end of the day, it all depends on whether the immortal approves. And I sure hope Stella agrees to guarantee Rykerʼs success in taking over the family. I wouldnʼt exactly be against her forcefully taking over the family and putting Ryker on top.”

”Would she really do such a thing?” Lyriana mused.

”Sheʼs done worse for less,” Sebastian said, stepping away from the window. ”Just inquire about the fate of the Lunarshade family and what they did to deserve being wiped out in a single night.”

***

A day for Ashlock had passed on the frontlines with the beast tide. The border was somehow being maintained for now. Any monsters that emerged from the storm were dive-bombed by a horde of Ents into the ground, where they quickly decayed and joined his team. It was a startlingly effective method, and he had quickly spread his army of a few hundred Ents to cover a large section of the storm. The rest was overseen by Larry, the Bastions, Stella, and Diana whenever they felt like participating.

”Looks like things are going good for now,” Stella said as she stretched her back.

”Yeah, for now,” Diana said as she stood over a map in the small bunker and stroked her chin.

Elaine who had also decided to join them and was surrounded by parchments, pushed up her glasses and said, ”If we go off previous data, we have a week or two until things get serious.”

”Serious in what sense?” Stella asked.

”Only Star Core and possibly even Nascent Soul Realm monsters will appear,” Diana tapped the map, ”The hundreds of Ents managed by Ashlock are in the Soul Fire Realm, with a select few in the Star Core Realm. Simply put, such a force will get overwhelmed within an hour if faced with such a superior enemy. Right, Elaine?”

Elaine nodded, ”Yeah. Usually, this second last wave wiped out the arrogant sects of the past that tried to stand their ground, so thereʼs not as much information as I would like regarding what it entails and what comes next.”

”Ash, canʼt you just make more Star Core Ents?” Stella asked the ceiling.

”I can, but itʼs not that simple. Itʼs a snowball effect. Once I have a few Ents, they can get me more, and so on. But Ents are always weaker than the corpses they are made from, especially with my desolation Qi half decaying them. So if the enemyʼs strength keeps escalating, just my Ents wonʼt be enough.” Ashlock paused, ”Star Core and above monsters are also more intelligent, so thereʼs a chance they will plan countermeasures against my Ents or spot weaknesses in our defenses.”

”So we need a plan,” Stella concluded.

”The Mystic Realm is open starting tomorrow,” Ashlock told them, ”If Elaineʼs estimates are correct and we have a week, thereʼs time for everyone to advance their cultivation. Besides, if things get bad, you guys can always pull out early with my Mystic Realmwarp fruits.”

”True,” Stella said, drumming her fingers on the desk while leaning over the map. ”But this area,” her finger traced the storm, ”Itʼs just too much land to defend, and if we spread out forces too thin to cover it all...”

”A single Nascent Soul Realm beast can power through,” Elaine finished her thought, and Stella nodded in agreement.

”Iʼve actually already thought about this and devised a solution.”

”Oh?” Diana said, sounding impressed.

”We need to funnel them into choke points. The monsters are smart enough to want to avoid areas with desolation Qi,” Ashlock used telekinesis to float a pen over and mark on the map, ”There are a few forests of my offspring here, here and here. Since my offspring are immune to desolation Qi, if I bring these lands to ruin while leaving the area between them untouched, the monsters will naturally avoid the death forests and move deeper into our lands.”

”Thatʼs actually genius, and we kill two birds with one stone here. We make defending it easier, and the monsters have every reason to avoid your offspring.” Diana nodded approvingly, ”I like this idea.”

Ashlock chuckled, ”Iʼm glad you like it, but I also need a lot more spirit stones to increase my offspringʼs cultivation so they wonʼt get wiped out by the storm passing over them. Douglas and the Mudcloaks need to speed up the creation of that city so we can start moving the people and get paid.”

”Progress on that front has already star—” Stella was interrupted by someone leaping out of the ethereal root.

A silver-haired child pointed at Stella and grinned ear to ear. ”Big sister!”

Stella jerked around and looked at Ryker Silverspire, ”Ryker? What the hell are you doing here?”

”I need to go home to visit my mom as my dad is about to finish his ascension, and the battle with my siblings for the silver core is over,” he said confidently, his hands on his hips. ”I bet my siblings will complain that I cheated or that the Ashfallen Sect isnʼt real. Can you come with me to prove them wrong?”

Stella started grinning, and Diana let out a deep sigh.