Reborn as a Demonic Tree-Novel

Ashlock watched as Stella entered the alleyway behind the half-destroyed restaurant through her conjured portal. She looked understandably distraught, so he quickly opened a rift for her that led straight to Red Vine Peak.

"Thanks, Tree..." She said in a low voice through their telepathic link as she walked through. The moment the portal snapped closed behind her, she reached down with a grunt, hastily tore off her high heels, and hurled them through the air. Before they could hit the stone, her spatial ring flashed with power, and they vanished.

Then with a frustrated huff, she marched across the stone while barefoot. Her ring flashed again, and the dress briefly vanished, only to be replaced with her usual comfortable wear.

She then sat on the bench, lay down, and closed her eyes angrily. A few moments passed, and her eyes snapped open, "Ugh! I just had to mess it up, Tree. I just couldn't keep my darn mouth shut!"

Sitting up, she tore the hair clip off and gripped her head in her hands while shouting in her mind, "Stupid Skyrends and their arrogance. Why are most cultivators such assholes? Ugh, I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I ruined everything."

"What did you ruin?" Ashlock asked through the telepathic link.

"I was gone for what? Ten minutes? We spent all day dressing me up and getting me ready to speak with the other nobles, and here I am crying to you only ten minutes later!" Stella smacked her forehead multiple times, "I. Just. Can't. Do. Anything. Right."

"Stella, calm down. Relax... it's okay."

She took a long breath and sat back on the bench, her conflicted gaze settling on his leaves that rustled in the early night breeze. "Is it really okay? I didn't ruin everything?"

"Silly girl, you did great out there."Ashlock chuckled as he saw hope reappear in her eyes. "Do you not remember the entire purpose of this tournament and the feast?"

Stella furrowed her brows, and a sudden realization seemed to bloom, "The point was to establish the Redclaws as the rulers of this land and to find an alchemist. Oh, and something about making a deal with the merchants."

"Exactly, and what did you achieve tonight? You saw how Theron treated Elder Margret. He thought so low of her and Redclaw's family that he would spit in her face. But now, after your fight, I think everyone in that room sees the Redclaws in a different light."

"I see..." Stella nodded to herself, "So what you are saying is I did a good job?"

"Well, no... not exactly. You went with the intention of learning how to converse with the other cultivators..."

Stella's face fell.

"And yet, within minutes, you were fighting them, and then you arrogantly offered them a chance to choose a challenge and even agreed to become his slave if you lost."

"I did?"

"You don't even remember?"

Stella frowned, "I just really wanted to get away from there, so I just agreed to whatever they said so I could leave quickly. Did I even have the option to negotiate the terms? I mean, I fought someone from a supposed higher-tier family within the Blood Lotus sect. The fact he didn't tell Dante to kill me there and then surprised me."

"You might not have felt like it, but I believe you had the upper hand in negotiations. You had utterly crushed their pride, so you could have been more demanding."

"Well, it's fine," Stella waved him off, "I didn't want anything from those bastards anyway, and they picked something I should win at easily."

"But imagine if they hadn't? You got lucky that you picked up alchemy a few days ago and seem to have an immense talent for it, but even then, you have only made a few pills. You keep getting away with it, but one day your arrogance will catch up to you and become the downfall for us all."

Stella was mute as she mulled over his words.

From the seriousness in her expression, it was evident that she knew she had fucked up.

What if she had sat at Dante Voidmind's table and infuriated him? There was no way Stella could shrug off a void affinity cultivator a few stages above her as she did with the Skyrends due to her dao comprehension.

"You're right, Tree. I hear you. I really do. I just find being all diplomatic like Diana and the others so hard... Ugh, I should go practice alchemy for tomorrow." Stella stood up. Her shoulders sagged as she clicked her fingers, summoning a portal, and a moment later, she was gone—down into the cavern below.

With the darkness of night enveloping him, Ashlock felt weary. He didn't like to fight with Stella or scold her like that, but with his newfound telepathy, it was about time he set things straight with her.

As she was trying to focus on her alchemy, he withdrew his {Abyssal Whispers} skill. He couldn't talk with her while asleep, and he didn't want to keep haunting her all night.

"Before I sleep, let me check back on the restaurant." Ashlock's vision blurred, and he soon returned to the restaurant. He had naturally infiltrated their wine cellar below the building with a root a few days ago and was poking its tip up through a gap in the floorboards so he could see what was happening within.

If Stella had faced a problem he didn't feel she could deal with, he was prepared to go all out to protect her through this root. Thankfully he could keep his presence from the families hidden for a while longer due to Stella navigating the hectic situation surprisingly well.

She may be bad at casual conversation, but she was great when it came to throwing hands and hurling insults. "I think it's about time Stella realized that being a noble that bends the knee to others for benefits and relationships isn't her forte. Which is fine... she can be a tyrant that lays down the law when needed instead. She would serve that role so much better."

Ashlock hoped tonight would lead to that realization for her. It was obvious a few hours ago that she was actually convinced she could keep her words and hands to herself when confronting someone who would naturally look down on both her and this backwater city she had called home her entire life. But alas, the reality had been far different.

"Anyway, that aside, before I go to sleep, let's see what's happening over here." Ashlock used his spiritual sight to glance around the restaurant. To his pleasant surprise, members from the Starweaver, Terraforge, and Azurecrest families were crowded around the Redclaw Grand Elder and the other Elders.

They were, of course, mostly asking about the mysterious Roselyn, but there were other questions and pleasantries thrown around for a while.

However, that wasn't of interest to Ashlock. What did draw his gaze was Dante Voidmind and Theron Skyrend sitting at a table far away from the hustle and bustle around the Redclaw Grand Elder.

Unfortunately, ripples of Void Qi surrounded them, so although their lips were moving slightly, suggesting an occurring conversation, no sound escaped the confines of their table.

Ashlock wasn't too worried, as Elaine was sitting right there next to Dante, so anything said within that void bubble that could harm him should be relayed to him or the Redclaws somehow before it became a problem.

"So tired... I should sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a hectic one." Ashlock mused as he began to retract his gaze. The feast was rather dull with Stella gone, especially with the Qi bubbles everywhere preventing him from eavesdropping on any exciting conversations.

However, on his way out, he noticed Diana bidding farewell to the merchants.

Ashlock waited a moment to see if any Redclaws would also leave, but they seemed content to stay for the rest of the night by their grinning faces. Stella may have caused a scene, but it had greatly elevated the Redclaws to this odd status they seemed to enjoy.

"The fact that Theron was so convinced he could spit in Elder Margrets face and not face any repercussions whatsoever shows the vast difference in status between these noble families." Ashlock mused, "No wonder the Nightrose family has never even shown a hint of interest in the deaths of the Winterwrath or Evergreen families. They must be like bugs to them."

Ashlock was curious about what standing the Skyrend family had. It was clear they were on a similar level to the Voidmind family, but he wasn't sure why. The Silverspires were easy to understand. They produced one of the sect's most lucrative exports, the spatial rings. Meanwhile, the Voidmind family had one of the most powerful affinities and ran Slymere City, a center for education and creativity.

But what could the Skyrend family provide the Blood Lotus sect? Ashlock couldn't figure it out.

"Whatever," Ashlock sighed as his vision blurred back to Red Vine Peak, "Let's see how Diana is."

Since Ashlock didn't want to overwhelm her mind with his telepathy and she wasn't good enough to translate his ancient runic words, he made a portal and sent her down to the cavern where Stella was standing over the earthen bowl with a deep frown on her face.

"That's actually a good idea..." Ashlock mused. How valuable would his lightning Qi barrier fruit be if Theron could throw his weight around like that just because his old man could fend off a few lightning bolts?

There was a brief silence between the two.

***

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Ashlock awoke bright and early the next day. He quickly glanced around and didn't see any angry Skyrend family trying to smite the place down, so all in all not a terrible start to the morning.

Diana was cultivating under the mist-shrouded trees, and Stella was still slaving away in the cavern. Ashlock was about to go check on some other things when he felt the presence of a group outside the tunnel.

"Oh, thank god it's just a Redclaw," Ashlock breathed a sigh of relief as he instructed Bob to move to the side and allow Elder Margret to enter. She walked down the tunnel purposefully and soon crossed the desolate cavern to Stella.

The twins had left sometime yesterday back to the White Stone Palace, and Douglas was busy working on his staircase in the hole, so it was just Stella slaving away over the earthen bowl.

Ashlock saw Elder Margret's fists clench at her sides. He could understand her feelings. This world was a dark and cruel place where powerful people treated those below them as nothing.

Stella stood there... stunned, clearly not knowing what to say.