Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Chapter 622: Fresh Pickings

Ashlock had been in a daze all day.

While it hadnʼt sent him into slumber, the inflow of Qi and Dao knowledge from thousands of different cultivators returning from the Eternal Realm had somewhat overwhelmed him.

So, after raising a few new Bastions to serve as floating bases of operations for each of the Ashbound Order teams, he had spent the rest of the day trying to plant as many new offspring across his Worldborne Sanctuary as possible. His Qi reserves were also at their limit, so he decided to encourage his new offspringʼs growth by offloading his excess Qi to them.

It wasnʼt until the next morning that the inflow of new Daos finally settled in and his system managed to pull him out of his deep slumber beneath the nine moons.

Idletree Daily Sign-In System

Day: 3793

Daily Credit: 3

Sacrifice Credit: 5944

[Sign in?]

”My sacrificial credits continue to rise steadily,” Ashlock noted groggily as he dismissed the system message. While upgrading Skyborne Bastion to Mythical grade for 13,846 credits had almost wiped him out, the returns had been immense. Understandable, as he and the World Tree had basically moved heaven and earth.

Ashlock glanced around his Inner World. It felt oddly empty without the thousands of cultivators that had stood before the entrance to his Eternal Realm yesterday. Stellaʼs home was also empty, as she was recovering elsewhere.

”System, who did I send into the Eternal Realm yesterday? The last day has been nothing but a haze with all those Daos filling my mind.”

[You sent Douglas, Elaine, Magnus Redclaw, and Elysia into the Eternal Realm. Time dilation is currently at 7.5x]

The events of the day before all came back to him.

”Ah, right, I made sure to send in Douglas first, as he finally isnʼt swamped with projects and his cultivation has been falling behind the others because of it. Elaine also wanted a chance to power up, and the cult of the All-Seeing Eye will spread even without Elysiaʼs direct involvement due to the stunt I pulled with the Worldborne Sanctuary. Meanwhile, Magnus is a warlord, but struggled against other Monarchs during the Celestial Empire war, so I need him to keep powering up. And with 7.5x time dilation, a day out here is over a week in there.” Ashlock paused. ”Arenʼt Douglas and Elaine both in the early stages of the Nascent Soul Realm? If so, depending on how long they can stay inside, reaching the Monarch Realm isnʼt impossible.”

He could only begin to imagine how terrifying Douglas and especially Elaine would be as Monarchs. Void and illusion Qi was already a deadly combo, and would be made even more lethal with access to a domain.

Moving away from the Eternal Realm and his quiet Inner World, Ashlock decided to face the day and looked outward.

”Itʼs still dark,” Ashlock noted as he glanced across the World Treeʼs canopy. He was used to the sun cresting over the eastern mountains in the wilderness, but now that he was effectively on top of the realm, it would be far later in the day when the sun finally managed to crest the edge of the World Treeʼs canopy and bathe him in sunlight.

”I still canʼt believe she let Stella and me come up with a name for her,” Ashlock mused. He had named all of his summons, like Larry, Kaida, and Maple, but it felt rather strange for an ancient Monarch Realm being to allow herself to be named by her daughter and a decade-old demonic tree.

”Though I have to say, Sylva Yggdrasil suits you,” Ashlock muttered as he glanced out across the canopy of rustling golden leaves. After a moment to take it all in, he decided to go check on Stella.

His beloved adopted daughter was onboard Moros, which was floating beside Red Vine Peak. The flagship was enshrouded in Larryʼs domain to ensure that Stella would be fine no matter what happened.

”How is she, Larry?” Ashlock asked the ashen cloud.

”Bad, but sheʼs recovered enough to talk,” Larry replied solemnly. ”I just wish I could do more for her.”

”Youʼre already doing plenty by maintaining your domain for so long,” Ashlock reassured him and headed inside. Once past the cloud of silver, his attention shifted to the deck of Moros and specifically the aether tree Akasha. Below her canopy, Akasha had Stella suspended in a bubble of aether Qi. Stella was floating in the air on her back, with her arms and legs drooping and her eyes closed.

She looked terrible. Her skin was charred black, and she was missing a lot of hair. Sol loomed at her side beyond the bubble, relentlessly reaching in to feed her healing orbs of light. The aether bubble that was preventing reality from tearing her apart extinguished most of Solʼs efforts like a flame dunked in water, and what little healing energy did manage to reach Stella didnʼt seem to do a lot.

Akasha noticed Ashlockʼs presence and rustled her leaves gently in greeting—a stark difference from the anger she had thrown his way while he was talking to the World Tree. Perhaps it was because their souls were now connected, and she could feel his worry.

”Stella,” Ashlock called out.

She stirred.

”Are you able to talk yet?”

Her eyes slowly opened, and upon realizing he had come to visit her, a little smile bloomed on her face.

”Ash... you came.”

”Yes, Iʼm here, Stella. Howʼs the pain? Are you comfortable?”

Stella coughed dryly, causing her whole body to jerk.

”Stella?!”

She waved him off. ”Iʼm... fine. Sort of, itʼs nice in here. I can feel my soul healing slowly.”

”Thatʼs a relief,” Ashlock sighed.

”Did you catch Korrath?”

”No. I sent Diana and the Void Ents after him, but he disappeared without a trace.”

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Stellaʼs expression hardened. ”The Still One must have escaped with him then.”

”The Still One?”

”Yeah—” Stella coughed again. ”—the Still One saved me, if only briefly, before you arrived. I... I think he managed to stop time.”

”Stop time? Stella, you know thatʼs not possible except for cultivators of Senior Leeʼs level. The number of Daos you have to master and the Qi expenditure to stop time for even a second in a localized area is unfathomable...”

”I know that.” Stella rolled her eyes. ”But it sure felt like he did.”

”I see. Has your opinion on the danger the Still One poses to us changed?”

”Somewhat. I think the threat he poses to us hasnʼt changed much, as he let me live and even saved me. But now that Iʼve seen a hint of his power, if he were to act against us, it would be devastating.”

Ashlock hadnʼt been there to witness this time stop, but he trusted Stellaʼs intuition.

”So the Still One is not to be angered, got it. And what about Korrath?”

Stellaʼs jaw clenched. ”He was strong. Possibly the strongest Monarch Iʼve had to face until now.”

”Is there a reason?” Ashlock asked, and Stella seemed to fall into a state of contemplation.

She was, without a doubt, one of the strongest and most effective killers of Monarchs in the Ashfallen Empire. If a Monarch could give her so much trouble, Ashlock wanted to know why. Especially since he was considering ascending and initiating the Era of Ascension soon, which would have him facing not only Monarchs from the next layer of creation, but also cultivators in the Sovereign of Realities Realm.

If Monarchs could still give them so much trouble, he feared what a Sovereign of Realities could do.

”Korrathʼs body had been augmented, his flesh replaced by runic metal. Iʼm not sure if he even felt pain, which let him fight quite aggressively, and there was something up with his blood. It didnʼt turn into a miasma like yours, but I sensed danger from it.” Stella turned her head to look at the sky. ”But I think... the worst part of all was his World Domain.”

”World Domain?” Ashlock asked. It was the first time he had heard the term.

”Yeah, thatʼs what he called it at least. Rather than overlapping reality with a domain, he basically pulled me into his Inner World, which was this arena made of glass,” she frowned. ”It didnʼt seem like much of an advantage at first, but he used the glass to reflect his lightning, and his storm was far more difficult to handle in an enclosed space.”

”Oh yeah, he did the same thing to Thalʼkorr when we tried to save him. So thatʼs called a World Domain, interesting. I wonder if I should try and get a World Domain too?”

Stella shook her head. ”I donʼt want people destroying my house, and what if someone emerged from the Eternal Realm only to step out into a fight between you and some Monarch?”

”Thatʼs fair... I suppose Iʼll try for a more typical Domain then—”

”Typical?” Stella snorted and then winced from pain. ”Nothing youʼve ever done is typical. You even got an Inner World before reaching Monarch Realm. I doubt anyone else has done that.”

Ashlock chuckled. ”True. I also have the conceptual Dao of Pride to integrate into my domain.”

”That certainly sounds powerful...” She turned to look at him. ”When are you planning to finally ascend?”

”As soon as you are better,” Ashlock replied after a moment of thought. ”I also want to give the Ashbound Order time to establish themselves and secure our borders against the lurking rebel Monarchs. Once I start my ascension, it will be far too chaotic to answer threats as effectively, so I will need my best on her feet.”

A flash of surprise passed Stellaʼs features. ”Iʼm your... best?”

”Of course? Nobody has killed as many Monarchs as you.”

Stella glanced back at the sky with a big smile. ”I see.”

”Get well soon.”

Stella closed her eyes, and Ashlock left her in Solʼs care, as he had a project to check on.

Returning to his Inner World, his focus passed over Stellaʼs house and settled onto the towering forest in the distance. It was his Heaven-Defying Orchard. During the battle with the Celestial Empire to save Stella, he had attempted to halt all operations here to keep his Inner World from crumbling, only to be told by his system that there was one he couldnʼt stop.

Ashlock passed through the towering forest of trees that had been stripped bare to feed the Ashfallen Trading Companyʼs shortage. Wraiths aimlessly floated through the trees, plucking fruit from the trees the moment they ripened. Coming across a clearing, he found the Fleshfruit Trees that Elaine had spent so long studying.

All of them were bare—whatever they had been growing withering away during the war, except for the middle tree in the cluster, whose branch was drooping under the weight of a human-sized fruit. It was black and had the wet texture of flesh, with thick veins webbed across its surface, pulsing loudly like a beating heart. It was grotesque to look at, even for him.

Above the fruit, his system displayed a message.

[A Fleshfruit containing a vessel grown for Morrigan, Origin of the Void. It has reached full maturity]

[Transfer the soul of Morrigan, Origin of the Void, from the Eternal Grove of Rebirth to the vessel?]

Since Elaine was in the Eternal Realm and Diana was incredibly busy, Ashlock was left to conclude this project by himself.

”Yes, do it,” Ashlock told his system and felt a presence wash through his Heaven-Defying Orchard and into the fruit. A tense moment passed, but nothing further happened.

”Thanatos.”

His General emerged from the shadows behind the tree.

”My Lord. I am here to serve.”

”Cut the fruit free from the tree.”

Thanatos brandished his scythe and floated over to the Fleshfruit tree. With one clean slice, he chopped the heavy fruit free from the Fleshfruit tree, sending the branch rebounding into the air, and Morriganʼs fruit fell with a wet thud.

”Now carefully cut the fruit open,” Ashlock instructed, and Thanatos moved to fulfill his order. He dug the tip of his scythe into the base of the fruit and slowly brought it up along its surface. Foul-smelling ichor spilled out of the wound, and to Ashlockʼs amusement, Thanatos stepped back to avoid it.

The edges of the fruit then bulged as Morrigan, trapped inside, tried to pull herself out. First came her fingers gripping the edges of the opening, followed by her arms, and then her entire body. She stumbled out of the hole, dripping with rancid brown ichor from head to toe, which hung from her in long strings like honey.

”Ash—” she began but choked as she vomited up a glob of indescribable mucus, almost catching Thanatos, who skillfully deflected it with a wall of shadows.

”Take a moment to recover,” Ashlock said as Morrigan staggered and braced herself against the sagging fruit. She stood there for a long moment, clearing out her lungs and trying to remember how to breathe.

While she did so, Ashlock used telekinesis to peel the layers of ichor off her body, confirming his suspicions. Beneath all the muck, Morriganʼs body had the silhouette of a human woman but carried traits of a dryad tainted by the void.

”Ashlock,” Morrigan finally managed to spit out. ”Whereʼs Elaine?”

”In the Eternal Realm, training to become a Monarch. Iʼm sorry she wasnʼt here to greet you.”

Morrigan waved him off. ”Itʼs fine. Actually, Iʼm glad she didnʼt get to see me in such a deplorable state.” She straightened up and ran a hand through her rose gold hair that ran down her back like a cape. While most of her body was that of a dryad, her hair was certainly human. The bright color contrasted well with her black eyes that looked like portals to the void itself.

”Congratulations,” Ashlock said after inspecting her a little closer and realizing why regrowing Morrigan a body had cost that much Qi.

”On what? My new body?”

”On reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.”

Morrigan froze. Ashlock could tell she was confirming his claim for herself, and it didnʼt take long for her to grin wildly, showing off her two rows of teeth.

”Iʼm really beyond the Star Core Realm...” Her grin faltered. ”But how?”

As the Origin of the Void, she had never made it past the Star Core Realm.

”Your soul current exists in two places—that body, and the Grove of Eternal Rebirth. Since youʼre technically my offspring now, your cultivation potential has also been unlocked,” Ashlock explained. ”Now the skyʼs the limit, and considering the targets Iʼm going to need you to hunt for me, Nascent Soul Realm wonʼt be enough.”

Morrigan was still clearly over the moon about reaching Nascent Soul Realm, but she was also smart enough to see his point.

”What should I do?”

”Rest for now and get a hold of yourself. Once youʼre ready, you will join your daughter in the Eternal Realm.”

Morrigan clenched her hands and nodded. ”Understood.”

”Good. Now, if you will excuse me, I can feel Sylva requesting my attention.”

”Sylva?”

”The World Tree,” Ashlock explained. ”The two of us have been getting on rather well recently.”