Reborn as a Demonic Tree-Chapter 422: Volcanic Ascension
Amber Redclaw's meditation had been going smoothly. Due to cultivating above a lake of fire while perched on a sword, nothing but streams of fire Qi spiraled through her consciousness, imparting upon her the knowledge of an eternal blaze and flooding her soul with Qi, all of which she greedily absorbed.
Cultivation had never been so easy, and it made up for the last miserable few weeks due to the beast tide's storm. She was about to pull another Divine Enlightenment fruit from her spatial ring to try and push up another stage when something felt off.
There was a sudden shift, and the fire flooding her consciousness began to die out as if drawn away by an invisible force. What is going on?! Deeply confused, she tried to fight the fleeing flames, demanding they return. But they did not listen. The fires continued to recede from her consciousness, leaving behind only fading embers where a fierce inferno once raged.
No... don't leave me! Come back!
It was the first time in her life she had felt betrayed by her own affinity—fire had been a constant warmth that was always beside her. Yet she had been left in the cold darkness, alone. Fading embers were all she managed to desperately hold on to, and it felt more like an insult.
Why did the flames of the heavens abandon me? Amber wondered as she spread her spiritual sense in the direction she felt the fire heading. As her senses spread, she became more baffled. What in the nine realms is this? It started as a gradual slope of fire as if climbing a mountain. But as it reached its zenith, all Amber saw was a star of crimson fire that seemed to illuminate the world with its wrathful blaze as it slowly split in two down the middle. The intense pressure from the star was enough to suppress her spiritual sight from getting any closer, forcing her to watch on from afar in awe.
"We need to leave. Now!" A familiar Qi-empowered voice flooded her consciousness. Amber opened her eyes and saw Elder Margret standing gracefully on a flying sword and looking into the distance with concern.
Following her gaze to the distant horizon, Amber saw the physical manifestation of what she had seen in the spiritual plane. Grand Elder Redclaw was floating above a volcano with twin spirals of lava coiling around him. The sky above the lone man was ablaze, and the volcano below was crumbling under the intense spiritual pressure he was releasing.
"He's ascending..." Amber blinked in disbelief. The Redclaw family's Grand Elder was taking the leap to the next realm. A process that not all survive, even with all the preparations. They would fail if their soul wavered for even a moment under heaven's wrath.
"That he is," Elder Margret nodded—there was a mixture of deep respect and worry in her eyes.
"Is he ready?" Amber asked as she stood up from her cross-legged position and joined Elder Margret in watching the raw display of Qi while standing atop her floating sword.
"That's something only he can know," Elder Margret said wistfully as she looked to the skies. "No matter the preparations you make or how perfect your foundations are, there's little a cultivator can do when faced with the wrath of the heavens besides persevering through sheer will. The only other option is to accept death." Lightning began to crackle angrily, and a sea of golden eyes poured through a tear in reality. They glared down at the cultivator, who dared to try ascending by splitting their soul.
Despite the distance, Amber felt an intense prickling sensation on her skin and instinctively floated backward. Elder Margret mirrored her actions, and the two continued to move away while keeping their eyes glued to the distant horizon.
"Something is about to happen," Elder Margret said.
Amber nodded in agreement. She could also feel something big was about to occur. Deciding to be prepared, she brought out a Dimensional Overlap fruit and ate it. Power surged through her spirit roots, and she felt the reach of her soul expand beyond her body. Her fire Qi began to leak out, forming a small domain of her own Qi around herself.
Elder Marget eyed her and nodded, "Good idea."
"Not an overreaction?" Amber asked. "It's my first time being out in the open and watching a Nascent Soul Realm ascension."
"Definity not an overreaction. There are legends of entire cities being wiped out in the past around a cultivator, and I doubt the Grand Elder plans to exert any effort to shield his surroundings." Elder Margret ate a Dimensional Overlap of her own, and their soul overlapped, creating a safe haven of their own Qi. Her eyes then narrowed, "It's starting."
Amber was about to reply when a wave of spiritual force like no other impacted their fire domains and caused them to falter. However, that was only the beginning.
"Heavens! The time for my ascension has come! Bear witness to my resolve!" the Grand Elder's voice erupted across the land like a volcanic roar.
Amber's eyes widened, and she surged Qi toward her fire domain. But it wasn't enough. In an instant, the Grand Elder's voice wiped out the lake of fire as far as the eye could see. All that remained in this now darkened pocket realm was a crumbling volcano supporting a man daring to split his soul in two. Amber and Elder Margret hastily reformed their dimensional overlaps as the Grand Elder's voice echoed through the pocket realm.
"In my many years alive, thousands have become ash under my flames. Whether they be monsters or men, they burned all the same. Sects have risen and crumbled under my blazing sword, and my name, Magnus the Inferno Sovereign, has forever been etched into history." The Grand Elder raised his sword, his eyes blazed like twin suns. "Now come! Test the fire of my soul, the resolve of my spirit! Should even a flicker of doubt tarnish my will to overcome your tyranny, may my soul be cast into the infernal abyss to burn for eternity!"
Amber could feel the intense passion behind every word as the Grand Elder recounted the feats of his life until now in the face of possible annihilation and dared the heavens to test his soul. She could almost feel the unwavering spirit of a warlord who had seen it all.
The Heavens answered his challenge in full force. The firey skies churned with power as twin dragons of flame descended upon Magnus. Their maws were wide open, housing storms of crackling divine lightning.
"Come, dragons of flame!" Magnus roared as he answered the heavens by conjuring a vortex of crimson flame that erupted upwards, "There's only one being I will kneel to, and it's certainly not you!"
Cataclysmic divine lightning bolts arced from the dragons' mouths as they plunged into the fire. Upon impact, a wave of spiritual pressure exploded across the sky, washing away the clouds and leaving only the heavens' eyes. The entire pocket realm seemed to tremble under the weight of the battle, and Amber had to keep mobilizing her own Qi to avoid her body being obliterated by the shockwaves.
"You can do it, Magnus," Elder Margret whispered under her breath. Her hands were tightly clasped before her as if she were praying. Amber also said a silent prayer for the man who was seen as the pinnacle of her family.
With my rapid progress through the cultivation stages, I thought reaching the Nascent Soul Realm would only be a matter of time.
Amber shook her head at her own ignorance. She couldn't even imagine putting herself in the Grand Elder's shoes right now. Her resolve and will were far too lacking to dare defy the heavens in such a way.
Her mind wandered to the two other powerhouses in the sect, Stella and Diana. They were both nearing the Nascent Soul Realm and would likely attempt ascension soon. To her surprise, she superimposed them into the Grand Elder's position, and despite being similar ages to her, she believed they would fare even better than the Grand Elder.
Stella would simply laugh at the heavens, and Diana would shrug them off or even try to devour them. Amber thought as she recalled the many times Diana had come to the White Stone Palace to feast on the heart demons of the Redclaw youth. Even Elaine or Jasmine seem like they would fare better at defying the heavens than me. Why? Am I not supposed to be a prodigy? What makes them different to me?
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Amber continued to float backward with Elder Margret as she deeply contemplated this sudden realization. Instead of feeling inspired by seeing a fellow fire cultivator ascending, she felt doubt and inferiority.
Had I been so blinded by the pursuit of power that I'd forgotten to forge my will? If so, how can I build up my confidence and resolve? Overcoming life-and-death situations or having something worth fighting for helps, right? But how am I supposed to get involved with those? Even with the beast tide incoming, life is relatively peaceful in the Ashfallen Sect.
Amber continued to watch the spectacle while brooding on this topic. Even if all the Qi in the realm wasn't being drawn toward the Grand Elder, she would still be unable to cultivate in her current state.
Her doubts were quickly forming into heart demons, and if she couldn't overcome them, she would lose her status as a prodigy and simply be remembered as a shooting star that crumbled to dust like so many cultivators before her.
***
When Stella entered the aether Qi pocket realm, she felt like she had entered a dream woven from starlight and silk. The air here was thick, like honey. This would be a prison for someone unable to phase through the aether. But moving around was a breeze for her and the shimmering motes of lost reality that drifted lazily by like fireflies.
As she sat there cultivating, she was surrounded by an endless stretch of crystalline terrain dominated by towering structures of crystals jutted upward like the teeth of an ancient beast. Every surface was polished to a mirror-like sheen that reflected the skies above—a boundless expanse of swirling nebulae and cascading auroras.
Stella had discovered that these towers were part of monolithic formations responsible for keeping this small piece of paradise in the aether together. The formations pulsed faintly like a heartbeat, as if alive. It was frankly unsettling, and the feeling of wrongness grew the longer she stayed in one place.
Stella's eyes snapped open as the Qi around her crackled and bent to her will. Her hair and earrings were floating as if weightless, and rocks with a dull white sheen orbited her. She recalled her soul pressure to stabilize her new stage, and they all fell to the ground with the sound of clinking glasses as they skidded across the crystalline floor. Her hair and earrings also flopped back down, returning to their original state.
"Phew, finally. The eighth stage of the Star Core Realm."
However, rather than celebrating her advancement, she felt frustrated.
It's taken me two whole weeks to advance a single stage. There's simply no way I can reach the Nascent Soul Realm at this rate before the pocket realm ends. Why? This place is full of Qi, and I was given many resources. I thought my soul would keep greedily absorbing and expanding, but as I get closer to the Nascent Soul Realm, I feel something is holding me back.
Grumbling to herself, she picked up one of the rocks that had been orbiting her and inspected it. "Dull already? I wonder if the upper layers of creation have purer affinity stones?"
Unlike the spirit stones found everywhere on the 9th layer of creation, it would seem the upper layers had dense enough Qi in the atmosphere for rocks of specific affinities to appear. The ring Elder Vortexian had provided her was full of them.
The only issue was that they were spatial affinity stones. While not totally useless, as her soul could process spatial Qi, she would have preferred aether Qi ones.
Feeling an approaching presence, Stella stopped inspecting the rock and looked over her shoulder. The nightmarish amalgamation of serpent and insect stopped at a respectful distance.
"Sup, Guppy," Stella got to her feet and patted the monster on the head. "Did you find a good cultivation spot for me?"
Her pet let out an affirming cry. "Good boy, have a treat." Her spatial ring flashed, and a water affinity stone appeared in her hand. While regular spirit stones were equally useful for all cultivators, that was not the case with these specialized affinity stones. It took her far more effort to convert water Qi into raw untamed Qi and then into aether Qi. Therefore, a water affinity stone like this one was useless to her.
Guppy happily devoured the spirit stone as he would eat anything. He took a moment to absorb the stone, and his entire body grew ever so slightly in size.
"Now lead the way," Stella gestured, and her obedient pet slithered back in the direction he had come. He was slower than usual and wouldn't be able to move at all if not for Stella wrapping him in aether Qi.
Stella didn't mind the speed as she casually followed behind her pet while resonating with the ebb and flow of the realm's Qi.
A place that exists in the inbetween sure is strange. Who can even build such a place?
The ground beneath her feet, which looked like solid crystal, was actually a strange blend of solidity and immaterial, each step releasing a soft ripple of luminous energy across the surface. Gravity itself felt whimsical here, and Stella found that her movements left faint afterimages, as though the pocket realm couldn't decide if she was truly here or not.
In the distance, rivers of liquid aether carved their way through the pocket realm, their waters flowing both upward and downward, further defying the laws of gravity. These streams converged into floating lakes suspended in the air, their surfaces rippling with glowing waves that seemed to hum with incomprehensible whispers even to her.
Her eyes were set on the horizon, barely visible between the crystalline towers. It was the one aspect of this place she couldn't reach with her spiritual sense as apparently it didn't exist. Gazing upon the horizon with her eyes was no better. It was a brain-bending enigma, constantly shifting. Sometimes, it appeared endless, stretching into a cascade of stars, while at other moments, it curved inward as if the entire realm were encased in a luminous sphere.
However, what really interested her the most besides the abundant Qi was the strange flora that flourished here—trees with translucent trunks and leaves made of condensed starlight, their branches swaying as if moved by an invisible wind. Delicate flowers made from the inbetween bloomed in abundance, their petals releasing wisps of aether Qi into the air like a soft mist.
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Stella hadn't paid the trees much attention as she had been more focused on progressing her cultivation with the pocket realms' abundant Qi, and the area near the flora was where the Qi was the weakest.
"Hold on, Guppy," Stella called out to her pet as she detoured off the crystalline path. The Darktide Devourer looked at her with confusion as she wandered over to one of the many trees. On the way, she plucked one of the flowers.
I should harvest some of these for Ash so he can grow them for me back on Red Vine Peak. Stella mused as she twirled it between her fingers. Though I doubt any grove he can cultivate for me will compare to this pocket realm.
Her aether Qi spread out, and she plucked a dozen flowers. She didn't pay much attention to the process of them floating up and entering her spatial ring. Instead, she was more curious about the aether Qi tree before her.
Its translucent trunk made it nearly impossible to see, especially up close. Stella carefully ran her fingers down its trunk, and soft light pulses rippled across its surface. It has a similar texture to the floor. Spongey, yet when I push too hard, it turns solid.
Stella's fingers paused as she thought of something. "Guppy, come here."
The Darktide Devourer slithered over and awaited further instruction.
"Try to bite this tree," Stella gestured to the trunk before her, which looked like it was fading in and out of reality.
Guppy approached the translucent trunk with a mixture of confusion and caution. A viscous substance dripped from his row of jagged teeth onto the crystalline ground below. He gave the tree one last cautious sniff before opening his maw wide and going for a chomp. He lurched forward, and his teeth clamped shut with a resounding snap, biting only the air. A breeze went by, rustling the unfazed tree's starlight leaves. Guppy pulled away with a soft cry and looked at Stella for forgiveness.
Stella, on the other hand, was grinning ear to ear.
As expected, there's still so much I don't know about the potential of aether Qi. To think a tree is capable of such a feat! Imagine if I could replicate that ability to fade in and out of reality. I've been too closed-minded. Just simply expanding my Qi reserves can only take me so far. To reach the pinnacle, what I need is a deeper understanding.
It felt weird. Progress had slowed down, and the path forward was no longer straightforward. Yet, Stella was getting excited. Cultivation finally had more to it than patiently sitting there, absorbing Qi, and listening to heaven's nonsense. It had become challenging again.
Reaching into her shadow, she called upon Anubis but didn't feel his presence. That's strange. Did he leave to go somewhere?
"Hey, Anubis! Where did you go?" Stella shouted into the abyss while empowering her voice with Qi. If the aether is the inbetween, surely her voice could reach across reality? "Guess not, huh."
Just as she was about to give up, the shadow lich slowly emerged from her shadow behind her.
"Mistress, Nox informed me that you called?"
"Nox did?" Stella said with surprise while looking over her shoulder.
Anubis nodded, his black flame eyes flickering with interest. "Indeed. The creator's roots spread far and wide, linking many worlds. Tartarus serves as an outpost in the pocket realms, and Nox is its overseer." Anubis leaned in closer, "You should be careful of shouting into the darkness like that, Mistress, lest it answers your call."
"Mhm, I understand your concerns." Stella nodded as she patted the Worldwalker asleep atop her head, "But now that you're here, I need you to get Ash for me."
"May I inquire what for?" The lich asked as he backed away from her ear.
Stella patted the tree before her, "I need his help to kidnap this tree. Tell him it's for a Bastion."
"Understood. Will that be all, Mistress?" Anubis asked
Stella simply nodded, and the lich wordlessly sunk into the abyss of her shadow.
Stella sat down and began cultivating while awaiting her father's arrival, as she didn't have time to waste. She had a lot to contemplate and little time left to do so. The Mystic Realm was ending soon, and it would be time to face the Silverspires.
