Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Stella waited in anticipation that Ashlock would agree to her idea.

Aether affinity didn't suit him as it encompassed fluid movement through reality, and he was... well, a tree. Sure, he had Bastions and liked to move the sect members around. But at the end of the day, he wasn't going to use it to its full potential. This realization saddened Stella until she discovered another possibility. In Valandor's understanding, she had been shown a side to the spatial affinity she had never seen before. It's raw potential for untold destruction and ruin. While spatial Qi held reality together, if someone were to use their control over it nefariously, they could wield entropy.

"Desolation affinity?" Ashlock said. "I have never heard of such an affinity before. Does it really exist?"

Stella nodded enthusiastically. Not only does it exist, it's absolutely perfect for you. She was deadset on trying to sell the idea of this affinity to him as she believed it was worth it despite the ruin it would bring to the nine realms.

"How did you learn about it?" Ashlock asked.

Stella coughed into her hand before beginning a short lecture.

"From my various enlightenments and taking on the teachings from others, I have concluded that affinities can be viewed as an upside-down tree." She wreathed her finger in aether Qi and drew a diagram in the air to illustrate her points as cultivators tended to tune out of discussions if there weren't diagrams to look at, "The trunk represents the fundamental affinities upon which reality is built. Things like fire, water, earth. In our reality, these are the affinities with the widest range of applications and are also easy to cultivate as their Qi is common. You can build upon these affinities by learning daos, which are basically the rules that make up reality." Her eyes flickered to the Redclaws present in the room. "For example, the Redclaws could learn lava dao and control lava. Right?"

Grand Elder Redclaw hummed in agreement, "Yes, but—"

"You don't have lava Qi." Stella finished his sentence.

"Exactly," he nodded, "While I can control lava if it's there, I can't manifest it out of my fire Qi like I could a firestorm, for example."

Stella pointed to a branch, "If the trunk of this tree represents fire Qi, one of the most fundamental but basic affinities, this branch here is lava Qi. If someone cultivated lava affinity, could they still use fire Qi?"

Elaine was the one to answer, "Usually yes. There are exceptions, but most cultivators that cultivate higher tier affinities can use lower tier ones."

"Interesting, so why don't they?" Stella countered as she shifted her focus to the girl. In a way, she was getting slightly off-topic, but for the first time in what felt like forever, she was the one with more information about the world than those around her, and she was eager to share her findings with them. Partly because she felt smart doing so... but also because she wanted to give back to those who had taught her.

Elaine pushed up her glasses while looking confused. "What do you mean?"

"Let's take an ice cultivator, for example. Do you ever see them attacking with water balls? Or waves of water?"

"No, you don't." Grand Elder Redclaw mused as he leaned back in his chair. "Those guys always come in with ice golems and snow storms."

"What about you, Diana?" Stella turned to her friend sitting nearby, "Since obtaining the demonic mist affinity, how often do you use water techniques?"

"Rarely," Diana admitted.

"And why is that?"

Diana crossed her arms, thinking, "Hmm, they are just worse?" she said after a while, "They also feel strange and inefficient when I tried using them recently. I mean, my soul is optimized to process and wield demonic mist Qi. I can convert it into water Qi and use my old water Qi techniques, but I don't find many situations where that would be necessary. What is your point, though?"

"Hold on, I'm getting to that." Stella pointed to the diagram, "Back to fire, this branch represents lava Qi. We all agree that someone can have lava Qi affinity and still use fire Qi techniques. Meanwhile, someone with fire Qi can use lava techniques so long as they comprehend the dao and there is lava Qi that happens to be nearby to manipulate. Right?"

Everyone nodded.

Stella gestured to the other branches coming off this branch, "We can all agree that Lava Qi is a high-tier affinity, but we can get even higher-tier ones like volcanic affinity. The point is that the branches keep sprawling out with new and more specific possibilities. The further you go from the fundamental affinities, the more specialized the type of affinity the cultivator can wield. Now, the point I was trying to make," she paused to take a breath, "Is that a special few affinities sit outside this model, and spatial is one such example."

"Isn't spatial a higher tier affinity?" Ashlock asked.

"That's what I also believed, and let's assume it is. That means it would be one of these branches. If so, can you use fire, earth, or water Qi?"

"No..." Ashlock trailed off. "I can use those daos, but not those Qi types."

"Wouldn't that make spatial one of the fundamental affinities?" Stella suggested.

"I suppose so? It must be a low-tier affinity if I cannot use any other affinity."

Stella pointed to random branches, "Can any of these higher-tier affinities, such as lava, ice, storm, and more, use spatial Qi?"

Ash thought for a while before concluding, "I doubt it."

Stella nodded, "Right, which is why I consider it a special case to the rule. Because of that, it cannot be included in this diagram. It sits beyond it alongside some other affinity types that govern reality on a higher level than simple elements. Hence, we consider it a higher-tier affinity."

"I see. This was quite interesting." Ashlock said, "But what does it have to do with desolation affinity?"

Stella smiled as she was given an opportunity to show off her new knowledge. "By obtaining aether Qi law, I gained a profound understanding of aether Qi and all that it encompasses—including spatial Qi, the lower tier affinity. From this, I learned that spatial Qi is the glue that holds this tree of reality together. Think of it as the bark, and when you open a portal, it's tearing a temporary hole through reality's bark. Meanwhile, aether Qi is like a tree's sap. Instead of punching a hole through the bark to traverse reality, I can flow effortlessly with the sap."

"And desolation? Where would it come in?"

"Like this," Stella manipulated the floating aether Qi tree to show it withering away, "You manipulate reality not by tearing holes through it or going along with its flow. No, you erode anything in your way to create the change you desire. Imagine how easy it would be to cross a vast wasteland compared to a dense forest? That is the idea of desolation, to bring ruin to reality."

There was a drawn-out silence in the room, but Stella could feel that Ash was thinking it over deeply.

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"He's never getting over the evil god image, is he?" Douglas muttered under his breath.

Stella shrugged. "I think he suits being an evil god."

"Stella, you know how powerful Ashlock is and how much land his presence dominates," Grand Elder Redclaw replied with a serious expression, "This desolation affinity you are suggesting will devastate the realm even after battles are over. He will leave barren wastelands of decay and ruin in his wake."

"So what?" Stella tilted her head, "All this world has tried to do is kill us. If Vincent gets his hands on me, he will slit my neck and drink my blood. If any of you had found Ash back when he was a sapling, you would have forced him to produce fruits to sell or turn them into pills. Not to mention, this realm is overrun with beasts who slaughter anyone in their way. My point is, why should we care?"

The silence returned.

"Look," Stella pulled out a chair and took a seat. All eyes were on her. "I get it, I really do. But I know Ash better than any of you, and I can say he will wield this power responsibly... as responsibly as any man-eating evil god tree could. Maybe just look at it as a necessary evil? Yes, Ash will bring destruction, but in the process, he will rid this realm of the beast tide and create a better life for mortals and cultivators alike."

"Nobody here doubts Ashlock, Stella," Diana reassured her. "But you know, we all kinda live and exist in this 'reality' that the heavens have built. So, to suggest someone acquire the power to tear it down and bring it to ruin... It's like being on a boat in an ocean and letting someone poke holes in it. Even if they promise in the end the water will help wash out the termites gnawing at the hull, and they will plug up the holes, it's hard not to feel apprehensive about it."

Stella nodded along in agreement. She could see and understand their apprehension, yet in the back of her mind, she struggled to really care. My world is here with Tree, on Red Vine Peak, surrounded by those I care about. So long as this piece of paradise exists, I don't care if we are surrounded by ruin.

Ultimately, the decision would be up to one tree, and everyone knew it.

"What do you think, Ash?" Stella asked the ceiling.

Stella always felt it, but it seemed some others also noticed the return of his focus on the room.

"I'm certainly intrigued. Though how would I learn it? Do you have an origin stone or something?"

Stella shook her head, "I can assist you, but you would have to learn it yourself. However, I think it won't be too hard as you already have comprehension of many daos and an Inner World that you lord over where you can try create desolation and study it."

"Do you know any techniques I would be capable of should I learn desolation affinity?" Ash asked.

Stella's spatial ring flashed with silver light, and multiple blank notebooks and ink-dipped pens appeared floating in the air. With absolute control over the aether and a profound understanding of the underlying spatial Qi, manipulation on this scale was easy.

"Coming right up! Just give me a moment to transcribe what my ancestors documented," Stella crossed her legs and closed her eyes. An overwhelming sense of calmness and control washed through her as she tapped into her bloodline, and to her surprise, she didn't have to offer anything up or put on a show. Her ancestors seemed more than keen to pass down their knowledge of desolation affinity despite the fact she was planning to hand it over to somebody else.

The celestial library carved inside an endless golden tree appeared overhead, and books flew off the shelves and spiraled toward her. They opened up, their pages flicking faster than the eye could see, yet the vast amount of information was transplanted straight into her mind, making it burn.

In the silence of the room, all that was heard was the scratching of paper as Stella desperately transcribed the information to the once-blank notebooks to try and relieve the pressure on her mind. She didn't want this information; it was for Ash, and it seemed her ancestors knew this as they forced an obscene amount of information into her head, so much so that there was no chance for her to digest and comprehend it.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

***

Ashlock felt warmth seeing the lengths his daughter was willing to go to teach him a new affinity. She had been distraught when she returned from the Mystic Realm without the aether origin stone to gift him, and he had caught her neck deep in long nights of research ever since. So he had been confused when she announced that despite achieving aether Qi law, she had no plans on teaching it to him, but now he understood. What he needed was not an affinity that helped him be harmonious with reality—he needed one that let him lord over its destruction to protect the things he loved.

There were undoubtedly more spatial techniques out there that he had yet to learn, but he was certainly reaching the limits of what was possible with the affinity. Facing the incoming beast tide and feeling helpless had proved as much to him. Portals and tears in reality did little to a seemingly never-ending storm. As Stella had so well pointed out during her lecture, spatial Qi punched temporary holes in reality that were always filled back in. So, facing a storm, whose greatest advantage was moving to fill in space and cover the advance of the beast tide, was a direct counter to him.

Desolation sounded just like what he needed. But unlike aether affinity that Stella could likely teach him in a day if she could make a pseudo-origin stone, desolation affinity seemed more up to him to learn.

"Looks like Stella has taken a giant step ahead of me once again," Diana sighed as she rested her head on her palm and slumped over the table. She watched Stella's impressive performance alongside everyone else. Multiple books were spread open with two pens writing on both sides of the page as fast as possible, practically burning trails into the paper.

Grand Elder Redclaw snorted, "How do you think I feel? I've participated in more wars than years she has been alive, yet she has surpassed me in cultivation and understanding of the dao."

"She's surpassed you?" Diana frowned, "I thought you were on the cusp of reaching Nascent Soul Realm."

"I am and have begun creating my infant soul," he replied simply, "Yet I don't think I would last one second in a fight against Stella."

Diana nodded slowly, "I know what you mean. Having absolute authority over an affinity makes it seem like having another limb rather than a power you borrowed from the heavens. Wow, this is ridiculous. There's no way she could do this before learning aether Qi law."

"And this is just writing on some notebooks," Grand Elder Redclaw pointed out, "Imagine fighting against this in battle? I wouldn't have a chance to finish casting a technique before she steps out of the aether behind me and rams a dagger through my heart."

Diana sighed in apparent frustration.

"What are you two getting so hung up over?" Sebastian Silverspire smiled, "I agree Stella is a genius, but nobody makes me feel as inferior as my young master Ryker."

"That's true," Diana soured and slothfully fell back against her chair, "He's what... five? Yet already in the Star Core Realm."

Sebastian simply nodded, and everyone fell silent, seemingly thinking over their inferior talent.

"Done!" Stella suddenly shouted, jolting them out of their gloomy thoughts. The books fell to the table, and the pens vanished into her spatial ring. "Heavens, that was fucking painful," she cursed while massaging her temples, "My brain feels like it's going to melt out my ears as a soup."

Diana raised her hand and spewed mist at her, and as it faded away, it revealed a grumpy-looking Stella with damp hair clinging to her face.

"Not funny," she frowned.

"Did it cool you down though?" Diana countered.

"Of course not!" Stella rolled her eyes, "Your mist isn't even cold. It's closer to boiling hot."

"Bah, be more appreciative." Diana waved her off, "Ever since you gained aether Qi law, you've gotten a big head."

Stella huffed, "You're just jealous, aren't you?"

"No comment."

Ashlock ignored their squabbling and picked up one of the books. Flicking to a random page, he found a technique titled Desolation Field. The description was... long. He speed-read the ancient runes Stella had scribbled down with impressively good handwriting and got the gist of the technique's capabilities. He looked at a few more to satisfy his curiosity and concluded that this was exactly what he needed.

Desolation affinity was basically spatial Qi with the added flavor of bringing ruin to everything his presence touched. In his domain, weapons would rust, plants would wither, monsters would feel the Life sucked from them, and reality would crumble. It wasn't flashy or pretty like Stella's aether flames. But it seemed extremely powerful, especially for him, as it would thrive off his extensive reach and Qi pool.

"System, do you think I can upgrade my affinity to desolation?"

[It's possible because desolation affinity builds upon spatial affinity that you already have a deep understanding of. The main thing that will hold you back is a profound understanding of the daos to which you wish to bring desolation. You can't just break apart something you don't understand]

Ashlock thought over the list of daos he currently comprehended. Fire, water, earth, wind, metal, shadow and soul. While he didn't have every one, due to the daos he had to gather to form his Inner World, he had all the fundamental ones.

"These should be enough to deal with the encroaching storm of the beast tide," Ashlock mused, "System, what will it take to learn desolation affinity?"

[I will have to absorb the knowledge of those books through Quill, and you will have to let half of your Inner World succumb to ruin so we can begin slowly converting your spatial Qi reserves to desolation Qi. Once your 9th soul moon reflects the altering of your Inner World and embraces desolation, you will have gained it permanently]

Ashlock returned his focus to the room.

"Stella..."

His daughter, who was on the floor wrestling with Diana and easily winning, looked up at the ceiling, "Yes, Tree?"

"Bring the books to Quill's library. I'm going to take on desolation affinity."

"Whooo!" She punched the air and vanished in a flash of white flames.

Diana sat up and frowned, "This isn't fair."

Grand Elder Redclaw patted her on the shoulder, "Life is like that sometimes. Just ambush her or something next time."