Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Ashlock was actually quite nervous as he held out the cup of spirit wine for the Redclaw Grand Elder to toast. Would they still take him seriously now they knew he was a tree? This concern had festered at the back of his mind for a while, but he felt he had shown enough competency for them to overlook his race as a spirit tree and still see him as their leader.

"Come on... please," Ashlock muttered as he watched the Redclaw Grand Elder's soul through his Evil Eye—the man's Qi had grown turbulent since Ashlock's declaration of being a tree.

"Is he going to get angry with me because I have lied to the Redclaws this whole time?" Ashlock felt saddened at the thought. He liked the Redclaws a lot, so if they were to reject him, it would be quite the blow. "Maybe if I told them I was a human in my past life, they might be more accepting? But honestly, I feel very detached from my past self. My life as a human feels like a fleeting dream at this point. Sometimes, I wonder if I was even human at all..."

The Redclaw Grand Elder's Qi calmed down as if he were overcome with relief, and he looked directly into Ashlock's Evil Eye with a grin. "To think I was worried all this time for your health and swift recovery! If I had known you were the tree all along, I could have rested easy. Of course, I accept you as our leader." He clinked his cup against Ashlock's and promptly downed it in one gulp. He then set the cup down and let off a satisfied sigh.

"Well said, Grand Elder. Though I never had any concerns as I always thought he was the tree!" Elder Mo laughed and offered a toast of his own.

Ashlock accepted the toast from Elder Mo. Elder Brent, Margret, and Sebastian Silverspire soon followed, clinking his cup before downing their spirit wine. With everyone toasted, Ashlock crushed the cup with his root and absorbed the spirit wine. A brief burning sensation quickly faded as his {Superior Poison Resistance}quietly activated in the background.

"Really? I didn't see this coming at all." Elder Margret grumbled, and Elder Brent nodded in agreement.

"I was told he was the tree but still held some doubts. It's nice to have it confirmed." Douglas added.

Elder Mo raised a hand in surrender, "Okay, unlike Douglas, I may not have always thought he was a tree. But I was pretty sure of it after making a whip for Jasmine and Stella. When using my spirit fire, I become one with the weapon I'm trying to make and have to form a close bond with the materials."

"I was getting to that part, and who are you calling an old man?!" Elder Mo scowled at Elder Brent and sighed in resignation. "Whatever. Since I used one of Ashlock's roots to make the whips, much of his soul was still imparted into the root, so I learned quite a bit about him. Happy now?"

That raised some concern for Ashlock. How much had Elder Mo gleaned from the lingering soul left in his roots? "Since almost dying to the Dao Storm, the system said my soul became 'tree-shaped,' so the fact I was once a human soul trapped in a tree shouldn't be possible to discern."

"Oh?" Elder Brent raised a brow in interest, unaware of Ashlock's concerns. "I didn't know you could talk to materials."

"I can, and it lets me say with certainty that we have found ourselves a worthy leader." Elder Mo's spatial ring flashed with silver light, and a sword as tall as he was manifested at his side. "Ashlock, I heard from Stella that you are a big fan of trying to learn swordsmanship, but I doubt human-sized swords are most appropriate for you, so I began working on this. My masterpiece."

"This is for me?" Ashlock took one deeper look at the sword with his Evil Eye, and he could tell the love that had been poured into every inch of the blade. Despite being many times bigger than a human-sized great sword, it had the level of detail in the handle and hilt he would expect from a prized display piece. He could feel Elder Mo's presence within the blade as it had been forged from his spirit fire. However, Ashlock also felt something sinister festering within the blood-red metal from which the blade was crafted.

"It's finished already?!" Stella yelled in glee and reappeared next to Elder Mo in a flash of white flames. "Woah, it looks even more awesome than the designs we agreed on."

Elder Mo looked very smug, "Of course, Princess."

Ashlock was surprised. "You had Elder Mo make this? When? I never saw you talking to Elder Mo..."

"Tree, did you forget you spend half your time sleeping?"

"That's fair..." Ashlock replied and wondered what else Stella got up to when he wasn't looking. It was true; he did spend a lot of time under the nine moons, which increased his and all of his offspring's cultivation speed—yet she made it sound like he was lazy.

Stella tried to pick the sword up, and while she managed to heave it into the air above her head, it looked silly as her hand couldn't even wrap around the handle. It was very clearly designed for a titan... or a tree swordsman. Not human-sized at all.

"Here you go, Tree," Stella held the sword out for him to take. "It was supposed to be your birthday present, but it seems Elder Mo finished it early."

"You had this made as a birthday present? Wow..." Ashlock was speechless. His birthday wasn't for another week, as it was late December. Once it became January 1st, his status screen would update and say he had been in this world for a decade. With everything going on, it had slipped his mind that he had told Stella his birthday, and since Stella didn't know when she was born, they had agreed to share the same birthday.

"I haven't gotten Stella anything yet," Ashlock cursed. He would have to think of something.

Ashlock wrapped his root around the hilt and was shocked at how comfortable it felt. Human-sized swords had felt like waving around a toothpick, and once his devour skill upgraded, swords became almost useless compared to his thorn-covered vines. But this? It felt like a real weapon, and one made for him.

Elder Mo stepped up beside Stella and coughed to draw everyone's attention.

"Ahem. The blade is crafted from Bloodiron, a type of spiritual metal found below ancient battlefields. The hatred and despair of the fallen souls that linger on the battlefield, unwilling to move on to their next life until they have inflicted enough misery onto the living take refuge in the metal on the battlefield. Over many centuries, their souls change the metal into Bloodiron." Elder Mo began to lecture about his creations again, but nobody interrupted him as he traced a finger down the blade.

"Bloodiron?" Sebastian said with surprise, "That's quite the interesting choice as it's known as a cursed metal. One that is usually detrimental to use."

"Is that why I feel a sinister aura deep in the metal?" Ashlock asked.

Elder Mo nodded, "Bloodiron is one of the strongest metals, but it's no stronger than crude iron if it's not fed lifeforce. A trade-off that few are willing to shoulder. But I suspected you were a spirit tree all along, meaning you have nearly unlimited life force. So, I had Stella assist me in installing a runic formation that amplifies this effect even more." Elder Mo proudly patted the sword, "This baby should be able to block Monarch Realm attacks without breaking so long as you feed it enough Qi and lifeforce."

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"That's amazing," Ashlock said as he studied the silver runic pattern along the sword's length. He could feel the faintest tug from the sword that he assumed was it siphoning off lifeforce, and the runic formation shimmered in response. It was beautiful, but as Ashlock fed it some more lifeforce, the silver lines turned a dark red, giving the weapon quite an ominous appearance. He kept feeding it more and more, yet the sword happily drank all he could give it. A red haze began swirling around the blade, and an aura of slaughter radiated from it.

Everyone took a step back except Stella, who seemed to take the aura as a challenge rather than a threat. Her own black and gold sword manifested in her hand, and white flames ignited down its blade.

"Elder Mo sold me on using Bloodiron for your sword, but I still want to test it," Stella grinned. "We still have time before your birthday to fix or change things."

"Good idea," Ashlock said as he also wanted to test the weapon's weight and reach. He extended his root over the table, past Stella, and to an open space still under the protection of his canopy from the rain. "Let's do it over here. Everyone else, please enjoy the spirit wine and food."

Stella cheerfully walked toward the designated area with her sword resting on her shoulder. Once in position, they began with Ashlock taking a big and obvious swing. He hadn't put any of his own Qi on the weapon, as he wanted to see what the sword was capable of on its own.

Stella effortlessly met the attack, parrying it to the side with her sword, which was a fifth of the size. There was a loud clang that echoed out, and Stella looked at his blood-red sword with relief. "I put quite a bit of force into that parry—at least mid-stage Star Core Realm, and it didn't break."

"Bloodiron is amazing. I didn't even protect the sword with my own Qi. Let's go a few more hits, and then I will see if it can handle my Qi." Ashlock said. Stella nodded, and Ashlock went on the offensive. Spatial Qi crackled through his ethereal root as he used telekinesis to control his ethereal root like a tentacle. It let him attack quickly and at angles that would be difficult for a human body to imitate.

Stella showcased her swordsmanship, which was impressive even without activating her bloodline as she nullified his attempts with well-timed parries.

"Go, Master!" Jasmine cheered from the table while stuffing her face with fruits. The others commented on the battle in a group while Elder Mo stood off to the side, watching intently with Qi flickering around his eyes. He held a small parchment and seemed to be carefully noting down possible improvements.

Stella seemed spurred on by her Disciple's words as she began to push forward and go on the offensive. This is where her smaller sword helped as she could maneuver it far easier and get under his attacks while his monstrously big sword whistled through the air.

"Getting a little confident are we? Let's see how this sword handles my Nascent Soul Realm Qi, which carries the weight of my inner world." Ashlock mused as lilac flames engulfed the blade, and he swung to the side. As before, Stella met the attack to parry it, but her eyes widened as her arms buckled under the force. Her sword shattered, and she was swept off her feet and propelled off to the side as if she had been hit by a car-sized bullet. There was a small sonic boom as she crashed through the spatial shield, drowning out the rain.

Everyone turned to see where Stella had flown off to in the distance. The Redclaws and Sebastian were controlling their surprise quite well, but Jasmine and Ryker had their mouths wide open in absolute shock.

"Is Stella fine? I didn't put my all into that attack, but there is an entire realm between us in strength," Ashlock worried and was about to look for her when there was a flash of white, and Stella reappeared in the spot she had been standing before. Her damp blonde hair had darkened slightly as it clung to her face, and her clothes were soaked from the storm she had just flown through.

Stella wiped a streak of blood trailing from her mouth with her sleeve. Yet, despite her injuries, she seemed far more concerned about the sword hilt she was holding with broken fingers, which now lacked a blade.

Diana glided across the mountain peak and swiftly pulled the water from Stella's clothes and hair, drying her instantly. Sol also lumbered over and healed her.

"My sword," Stella muttered, looking at the hilt as if she were about to cry while her fingers snapped back into place. She seemed far more distressed over the sword than the injuries and experience of being hit so hard.

Ashlock hadn't expected to shatter Stella's sword with a single hit. If it had survived, she might have been able to parry his attack, and she wouldn't have gone flying.

"Elder Mo," he spoke directly into the man's mind. "I need a gift for Stella's birthday next week. With her sword broken, I'm sure you know what to do."

The man gave a slight nod and jogged over to Stella. "Don't worry, Princess, I can get it fixed." He held out his hand, and Stella reluctantly gave him the hilt.

"I'll provide the materials and the design later," Ashlock said to Elder Mo. She deserved more than a simple repair.

"Please make sure to repair it well," Stella said, unaware of the silent conversation the two were having. "Tree gifted that sword to me in the past."

"I will do the best I can,"Elder Mo nodded seriously.

Stella sighed and eyed Ashlock's sword, which still emanated a sinister aura, "Bloodiron really was a good choice of metal for you." She rolled her shoulders, "It felt like I tried to parry an unstoppable wall."

Ashlock flexed his ethereal root to look at the sword more and had to agree. This wasn't some gimmick weapon or joke. It actually made swordsmanship a viable way to fight for him.

"This is the best present I've ever received. Thank you, Stella. Seriously, this means a lot."

Stella's sour mood was instantly turned around, and she beamed, "I'm glad you like it."

Ashlock waved the sword around some more but noticed its presence was disturbing a few people as it pulsed as if alive, so he deposited it in his storage. Stella returned to her bench along with Diana. Everyone seemed in good spirits, and he couldn't believe how easily they seemed to have taken the news that there was no immortal under the mountain—

"So, Ashlock. I have some questions, if you don't mind." The Redclaw Grand Elder said, and everyone fell silent. It seemed many of them also had questions but had been waiting for an opportunity.

"There it is. I guess it's time for the dreaded Q&A session." Ashlock sighed and swiveled his eye to look straight at the Redclaw Grand Elder. "I'm happy to answer almost anything." There were many things he hadn't even told Stella yet—mostly because she refused to be told for fear of causing him problems if her memories got probed. He obviously wouldn't tell them about his system.

"Okay, first question and one that's all the more relevant now that I know you aren't a recovering immortal. How do you grow so fast? Even the World Tree takes centuries to reach any relevant level of power, and that's with cultivators tending to it, hoping it would mature and start providing them divine sap they can drink."

Well, that was certainly a loaded question. The true answer was the Idletree Daily Sign-In System. Without it, even with his human soul, he would have been stuck in the Qi Realm without his devour skill.

"I don't know what species of tree the World Tree is, but as a Demonic Spirit Tree, I can gain power through consuming monsters. I got lucky in my early life as a sapling that Stella fed me the bodies of the servants she slaughtered, allowing me to grow strong enough to start sourcing monster corpses on my own."

Stella was unfazed as a few people stared at her.

"Right." The Grand Elder nodded, but he understandably wasn't convinced.

"There are other reasons for my rapid growth. A senior from an upper realm gifted me a divine fragment that gives me unlimited cultivation potential and puts me on the path to becoming a divine being." Ashlock added, "And there are other reasons for my rapid growth that would be dangerous to disclose."

"So you aren't some reincarnated being from a higher realm?"

"No," Ashlock answered honestly, unless Earth counted as a higher realm. "I was once a very weak and clueless tree."

Diana nodded, "I can attest to that. Until this year, he couldn't even speak. Poor Stella spent a year learning the ancient runic language day and night in Darklight City's library to try communicating with Ashlock. She also fought in a tournament to desperately protect Red Vine Peak from falling into the hands of my family. While Ashlock's rapid rise in cultivation has been impressive, he definitely didn't give off the feeling of a cultivator or old spiritual being that knew what they were doing."

Stella nodded along proudly. "I protected Tree as best I could, and he did the same for me."

The Grand Elder smiled, "I see. But that leads me to a slightly awkward question." He looked between Ashlock and Stella. "If you are a tree, how can Stella be your daughter?"

"I treat her as my own, but she's not my biological daughter. However, she is at least half tree," Ashlock said.

"That's right!" Stella stuck her nose in the air, "My mother is the World Tree."

"Sorry... what?" The Grand Elder raised a brow.

Ashlock sighed. This was going to be hard to explain.

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