Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Chapter 466: Cosmic Beam

Despite leaning against Akasha and feeling the immense level of aether Qi the spirit tree was controlling to keep Moros hidden in the aether, Stella could not concentrate. Her mood had been soured. She had always found Kaida a little abrasive toward her since he was nothing but a glorified grass snake, but she never suspected he would outright lie to her.

Does he still think Iʼm that clueless? Sure, I donʼt know all the ins and outs, especially when a guy is involved, but Diana told me enough to know they werenʼt up to nothing! Whatever, Iʼm happy for them, I guess.

She took a deep breath and tried to focus on the aether Qi around her. As Nymeria had reminded her, Moros was a great place to cultivate. Not only was there aether Qi being produced by the flowers and passively radiated out from the twenty aether Qi trees on Moros, but she could also learn from them.

But seriously, why did Kaida feel the need to lie to me—gah, whatever. Iʼm over it.

What she needed to focus on right now was getting stronger.

While her comprehension of aether Qi had reached the level of aether law after absorbing Valandorʼs soul and the origin stone, she still paled in comparison to Akashaʼs level of control. Although the spirit treeʼs cultivation wasnʼt superior to hers, as they were both in the Star Core Realm, the tree obviously had centuries more experience than her from how effortlessly Akasha wielded aether Qi and how beautifully she did it, Stella couldnʼt help but be jealous.

She had to learn from Akasha. Until now, she hadnʼt had a teacher. Due to her bloodline letting her learn things at a shockingly quick rate, she hadnʼt seen the need for one... until now. She felt lost and needed guidance.

The slight problem was that this potential teacher was a spirit tree. Thankfully, while learning draconic, she and Ashlock had started developing a language for trees. Since the rustling of leaves wasnʼt a reliable communication method during the storm, they created a form of something Ash called ʼsign languageʼ by arranging leaves on branches to point in specific directions.

It worked quite well from the testing they had conducted thus far.

But will Akasha even be able to speak to me? Usual spirit trees are incapable of talking, but Ashʼs offspring seem to inherit his talent for communication. Will Akasha be the same now that sheʼs linked to the Bastion?

Deciding there was only one way to find out, Stella swiveled around and looked up at Akashaʼs canopy. ”Akasha, can you teach me about aether Qi?” she asked.

There was a long pause—it seemed that taking their sweet time to mull things over was another personality trait of spirit trees.

One of Akashaʼs branches became wreathed in aether Qi, and the dozen leaves pointed in different directions. Stella took a moment to figure out the translation and couldnʼt help but tilt her head to the side in utter confusion.

You will only teach me if I tell Ash about how slender your trunk is?

”Um...” Stella wasnʼt sure what to say. It seemed harmless enough? Perhaps it was some joke between spirit trees she didnʼt fully get, but it seemed like a good deal if it helped her improve her understanding of aether Qi.

”Sure, Iʼll let him know,” Stella said, nodding apprehensively. ”Have we got a deal?”

The leaves changed position, and now Stella was really confused.

”I must also tell Ash how beautiful your leaves are in the moonlight. Okay, this is getting weird. But fine, I agree. Can you teach me now?”

After bargaining with the strange tree and accepting her requests, Akasha asked Stella to open up her consciousness. She complied and was surprised at how many layers of mental defenses she had to lower before Akasha could get even a single thread of her consciousness to reach hers.

When did my soul get so strong? Is it because of all the Mind Fortress pills I keep eating? Or did absorbing Valandorʼs soul and the aether origin stone fortify my mental defenses?

Akasha seemed to mirror her surprise as the leaves signed out, ʼYou have a strong mind for a child.ʼ

”Thank you,” Stella said, taking the compliment rather than focusing on the tree calling her a child. It was all about perspective, and she would likely seem like a child to this spirit tree that was likely hundreds of times older than her, no matter how much time passed.

ʼNow show me what you know about the aether so far.ʼ

Stella nodded and closed her eyes. Focusing on that slither of consciousness from Akasha, she unloaded everything she could think of as raw understanding. How aether Qi was characterized by its fluid traversal through reality by not acting with or against the made-up structure of reality, but rather existing outside, yet also alongside it. In a way, aether Qi perfectly suited her. She often felt like an outsider, treated as having weird views about the world. Yet she continued to exist alongside everyone else, pursuing the same goals. There was just always this gap between them. No matter how close physically they got, she felt an emotional detachment from those around her.

Well, except with Ash, of course.

Stella paused. There was something intrinsically weird about dumping all you know regarding the affinity you cultivate onto someone else, taking a step back, and realizing how much it shaped your personality.

Is this what Akasha wanted me to do? Self-reflection? I definitely donʼt do it often enough despite how much I live in my head overthinking things.

Stella felt the leaves overhead move again, so she opened one eye and read Akashaʼs words from the formation of the leaves. It was a longer message than she had anticipated, spreading across multiple branches this time.

The greatest strengths of aether Qi lie in its non-linear interaction with reality. According to Akasha, Iʼm still too attached to the material world, which is hindering my ability to progress.

Stellaʼs eyes widened. She felt like she had been thrown a rope made from hope. After the last Mystic Realm visit, she concluded she wasnʼt ready to leap to Nascent Soul Realm—something had been missing. While she could continue to brute force her cultivation forward by depending on Ashʼs amazing cultivation resources and the Qi-rich environments she was exposed to, it didnʼt feel right. She needed a new perspective on how to use aether Qi before ascending any further.

”Non-linear interaction with reality...” Stella mumbled to herself. What did that mean? Clearly, to become more ʼnon-linear,ʼ she needed to detach herself from reality, as that was what Akasha said was holding her back. Looking at Akasha, she could get an idea of what she was talking about.

Akasha didnʼt look like she belonged to this reality. Her trunk, branches, and leaves all had this slightly ghostly appearance as if they were a single step away from phasing out of existence. In comparison, she was very much here. Flesh and blood, easy to touch and see.

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That wouldnʼt do at all.

Compared to Akasha, a tree rooted in place, she seemed more stuck in one place than her—despite having the freedom of legs—which was ridiculous.

I donʼt know how long it will take for us to locate Astralis in the beast tide, so now is a good time to practice. I just hope Ashʼs Qi reserves donʼt bottom out before we find Astralis and Moros is pulled out of the aether in the middle of many Nascent Soul Realm monsters.

Putting that fear aside, she decided to try mirroring the ghostly effect on an exterior item wreathed in her Qi first, as the idea of having her body existing on the very thin line between reality and the aether plane was a little unsettling.

She chose her sword because, at this point, it was like a third limb. Coating it in aether Qi, she floated it before her.

”Non-linear...” she narrowed her eyes.

This was going to take a while.

One hour passed, and Stellaʼs head pounded from an intense headache. She wiped a trail of blood from her nose with the back of her hand. Even with the assistance of her bloodline, this had been a more monumental task than she had anticipated.

But she had done it—sort of. Her sword didnʼt quite have the constant ghostly appearance of shifting between realms that Akashaʼs entire form did, but it was close.

”Hey, Stella.”

”Mhm?” Stella looked over her shoulder and saw a woman leaning over her with curious silver serpentine eyes and a single small horn jutting from her forehead. Blinking in confusion for a moment, Stella finally remembered who this woman was. ”Oh, Nymeria. Whatʼs up?”

”Sorry to bother you,” she said, curling her black hair behind her ear. ”I have just been watching you for the last hour or so and was deathly curious about what you were doing but didnʼt dare to interrupt.”

Stella glanced to the side and saw that Kaida was fast asleep.

”Well, I appreciate that,” Stella stood and stretched her numb legs. ”I was just trying to improve my use of aether Qi. Actually...” she smiled, ”could you help me test something?”

Nymeria returned the smile. ”Iʼd be happy to.”

”It might hurt if you canʼt block it,” Stella warned as she grabbed the hilt of the sword floating beside her.

”Oh... well, try not to go too hard—not that I canʼt take it,” she quickly clarified. ”My body is strong; itʼs just that Kaida linked my soul to that tree in the library, so if I get too hurt, Iʼll apparently be dragged back there?”

Stella paused and looked into Nymeriaʼs eyes. ”What? When did he do that?”

Nymeria tensed. ”When you walked in and asked if we were doing anything.”

”Huh,” Stella said, recalling the scene in her mind. ”He was really just anchoring your soul? I didnʼt ask him to do that...”

Nymeriaʼs face tinged red. ”He said it was to keep me safe.”

Stella burst out laughing. ”He said that? Kaida? The dragon that grumbles if someone except Diana breathes in his vicinity wanted to keep some random monster he met today safe?!”

”Can you keep it down... please?” Nymeria begged.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Stella got a hold of herself. ”Okay, okay. Phew, Iʼm good now.”

”You needed my help testing something?” Nymeria said, clearly trying to change the subject.

”Ah, yes. We got sidetracked,” Stella raised her sword. ”How strong are those scales of yours?”

Nymeria was pretty much human-looking, except for her eyes, which looked as if they belonged to a lizard, the cute little horn jutting from the dead center of her forehead, and, most importantly, the silver scales running down the sides of her arms, legs, torso, and chest.

”Quite strong? Iʼve blocked the teeth of a five-eyed wolf before with them.”

”Iʼm going to be honest; I have not got the faintest clue what a five-eyed wolf is, but as long as you are confident, Iʼll strike as lightly as possible.”

Nymeria nodded and raised her arm. ”Sounds good. What do you want me to do?”

”Try to block this strike,” Stella said, raising her sword overhead.

”Got it,” Nymeria replied, crossing her arms while taking a defensive position.

Confirming she was ready with an exchange of nods. Stella swung the sword down while infusing it with aether Qi so the sword would tread that thin line between reality and the aether plane.

Nymeria thrust her arms forward in a cross to parry the overhead strike and redirect the force, only to find herself pushing back air.

Stella grinned wildly. It had worked! The sword existed non-linearly with reality, meaning it left afterimages, and she could choose which of them became real. Effectively, the first one was nothing but an illusion of a future that didnʼt come to fruition. The real sword came a second later as she phased it in from that line between realities and materialized it fully.

Nymeria was now defenseless. Her eyes widened with fear, and she arched her body back to try to dodge or block with the scales on her chest. But to Stellaʼs surprise and rapidly rising worry, she wasnʼt fast enough. It was going to hit Nymeriaʼs face. She pulled back to take all of the strength out of the swing but wasnʼt yet used to controlling a sword that wasnʼt a hundred percent present in reality, so she couldnʼt redirect it entirely—there was a loud clang and a blinding spark. Stella felt her sword being stopped dead in its tracks, and her whole body lurched forward.

”Huh...” she mumbled in confusion. The answer to what had happened came in the form of two golden eyes glaring down at her.

”Stella,” Kaida said sternly in draconic, ”what do you think you are doing?”

The Celestial Ink Dragon was firmly pinching her sword between two claws, mere inches from Nymeriaʼs face and actually touching the tip of her horn. The dragon girl stepped back, a little shaken.

Stella gulped. Since when had Kaida become this strong and intimidating? She remembered that not even months ago, he had been nothing but an overgrown snake that liked playing pranks on her.

”You didnʼt need to interfere, Kaida. Like me, she is at the peak of the Star Core Realm, and I was holding back as much as I could,” Stella said. ”Now, release my sword.”

After a tense moment, he opened his claws, letting Stella take her sword back, but his intense gaze didnʼt falter.

”How did you do that?” Nymeria said, her expression serious. ”Iʼve got good reaction times, yet you were able to feint me out like that?” She stepped forward. ”Was that some kind of technique?”

”Just a unique application of aether Qi, and Iʼm only just getting started with it,” Stella said, smirking at Kaidaʼs clear annoyance. ”Once I can apply that effect to my body and many swords, Iʼll be practically impossible to fight.”

Nymeria nodded. ”I could agree with that—” she paused, and her head whipped to face the front of the Bastion. ”Heʼs here,” she whispered under her breath.

Kaida followed a second later and seemed to agree. ”Itʼs hard to ignore such an aura.”

Anubis suddenly seemed filled with energy as Ash addressed them through the lich. ”Iʼm going to be taking us out of the aether as it seems Astralis has already spotted us and is heading this way. Get ready for combat.”

With those words, Erebus pulsed with power, and a void shield manifested alongside the existing aether Qi shield, growing in strength. What had been the endless nothingness of the aether vanished as Moros was pulled back into reality. The dense storm crashed into the shields, making them ripple.

Immediately, Stella felt the aura of hundreds of monsters around them—some were even in the Nascent Soul Realm. But one aura overshadowed them all like the sun outshining the stars during the day.

Astralis, a city-sized dragon, loomed in the clouds up ahead. Despite his size, she couldnʼt even see him, but she didnʼt need to. Any cultivator could feel his immense presence. It was domineering, as if bending the world to his will.

”Looks like we found him—or would it be better to say he found us?” Stella turned to Nymeria. ”What do we do now?”

”Iʼll try to talk with him first,” Nymeriamanifested her wings and was about to jump up when Moros rocked backward as if it had encountered a massive wave. Both layers of shields flickered intensely, and it seemed the air was bathed in bloodlust.

”You outsiders dare to invade the land of a Primal Overlord?!” Astralisʼs Qi-empowered voice thundered through the storm. Before even giving them a chance to respond, cosmic Qi began to dance across his wings and gather toward his head.

”Not good!” Nymeria shouted, but it was too late.

”Perish beneath the might of a falling star!”

The world went white as a beam of unfathomable energy parted the storm above and pummeled Moros—causing the Bastion to lose height. The shields failed a second later.

Stella was in disbelief as she looked up, and all she saw was the beam that had torn through two layers of shields in a split second descending upon her. She could step into the aether to escape, but she wasnʼt alone. Nymeria was standing right at her side. Stellaʼs mind raced, and the world slowed down. Her body blurred as she used the in-between to create afterimages of herself to get out of the path of the beam and push Nymeria out of the way.

But she wasnʼt faster than light. Intense pain like no other filled her mind as she watched the beam obliterate her arm and explode the ground below her—throwing her back. A distant force pulled on her soul as the condition for her Soul Anchor activated, and she was pulled back through reality to Quill on Red Vine Peak.

Collapsing into the ink lake while screaming in pain, there was a second splash at her side. Nymeria had also returned here and seemed to be in far worse shape but somehow alive.

Quill lit up with power as dozens of runes engraved in his bark activated. As a bright healing light bathed her and Stellaʼs arm regrew, she couldnʼt help but worry.

Just what fate had befallen Moros and the others?