Reborn as a Demonic Tree-Novel

Ashlock was somewhat surprised to discover {Abyssal Whispers} was deemed by the system as a tree-specific skill as it morphed into {Mental Anguish} and was added to a sublist in his status screen alongside the other skills that were morphed for his Qi Fruit Production.

"How strange," Ashlock muttered, "Is it because I use my roots to talk to the abyss?"

Going over the information that appeared in his mind, he determined that eating the fruit simply made you go mad from random hallucinations like a bad LSD trip.

"Does this count as an attack skill or a defensive one?" Ashlock pondered. Either way, it was a debuff because whoever ate the fruit would not be in any condition to keep fighting him.

Turning his attention back to their conversation, Ashlock replied to Stella's query regarding whether he had his telepathic technique in a fruit, "I do not have a fruit that grants telepathy, but I do have one that induces madness."

"Yes, I assume it will be rather similar."

Ashlock agreed as he opened the menu and set a few fruits to grow with the new {Mental Anguish}. He almost struggled to find space on his branches that were now drooping with fruit.

With mass production of pills involving his fruit planned in the near future, he had set a load to grow a few days ago in preparation as they took time. Even if most of the fruit wouldn't find their way into mass-market pills, they still had internal uses within the Ashfallen Sect, like {Language Comprehension} and {Lightning Qi Barrier}.

"I've set them to grow. They should be done within the next day or so,"Ashlock said.

He was a little annoyed at himself that he had forgotten about his Qi Fruit Production's ability and had been absentmindedly growing new skill fruits while forgetting about {Abyssal Whispers}, but to be fair, he had been so distracted by Stella's new pill idea that he hadn't paid enough attention.

"Florist's Touch, Enlightenment, Neural Root, Vampiric Touch, and Deep Meditation, I believe," Ashlock replied.

"Those with the {Vampiric Touch} buff can forcefully absorb Qi from others through physical contact. I assume it would be most useful in combat, but could also have some use for transferring Qi between people?"

Ashlock had never thought much about the Vampiric Touch skill fruit, but maybe he should have—there were certainly some niche scenarios where it could be advantageous.

"Now that has really got my mind going. There are quite a few applications, aren't there? The skill doesn't specify that the target has to be alive. And with physical contact being the only requirement, it could be good for Stella, who can reach through portals, or Douglas, who can get in close and take a beating due to his earth affinity," Ashlock mused, "Hell, even Kaida could use the skill and then wrap around someone and suck them dry of Qi."

Ashlock also didn't know much about the Patriarch of the Blood Lotus Sect. A man who can wield enough power to lord over many noble families and nine different cities couldn't be a normal person.

"How long is he usually in closed-door cultivation?" Ashlock inquired.

Ashlock couldn't imagine sitting in a dark room underground for twenty years doing nothing but cultivating.

"That is odd," Ashlock agreed, "So how does he go about picking the pill furnaces? That might give a clue."

"So it's not a random selection? He actively seeks them out?" Ashlock asked, and Elder Margret nodded in agreement.

Seeing how uncomfortable Stella was with the current conversation, Ashlock decided to steer it back to what they had been discussing before, "Okay, so with Vampiric Touch out, are we happy with the four remaining options: Florist's Touch, Enlightenment, Neural Root and Deep Meditation?"

Both nodded.

It was a good question. His truffles had the most potent effects but were also Qi-intensive to grow. If pills made from truffles became in extreme demand, he would hamper his own cultivation to grow more. It was a tradeoff. Was he willing to suffocate his Qi intake for profit, and if so, to what extent?

"We could, but the truffles are in short supply and costly to grow. We would either need to make the pills extremely expensive and exclusive or water them down somehow." Ashlock explained.

This was also one of Ashlock's past concerns when he first unlocked the skill and had Stella eat them. Of course, he didn't know the standard for cultivation resources back then, but with his knowledge now, he agreed with Elder Margret's concern. A war was already on the horizon, and he didn't want to cause another one aimed at him.

"I like that,"Ashlock agreed and then asked Stella, "And what about the Skin Improvement truffle? Although a lot more harmless than the others, I think the demand will be very high, and I would struggle to keep up with production."

"That's true," Ashlock mused, "What about as a cream? Or distilled into wine?"

"As the person who contributed the most to the alchemy tournament's success, you've earned it,"

"I have fully taken the Redclaws under my branches. There will be no shortage of rewards in the near future," Ashlock assured the suddenly distressed woman, "However, for now, I think it's best we make some progress on these pills. Don't you agree?"

Both of them nodded, and after some discussion, they decided to make an herbal ointment mixed with a tiny amount of the beauty truffle. It wasn't quite alchemy, but it was easy enough to make.

Stella then spent the rest of the afternoon teaching Elder Margret how to make the various pills. Most were just Mortal or Spirit-tier pill recipes like the Heavenly Purification Pill with the fruit mixed in. So, they were simple enough to learn quickly.

Ashlock then opened a portal for Elder Margret to the other cavern so she could teach the alchemists these pill recipes.

Meanwhile, Stella made her own portal to Red Vine Peak.

"That I did. Catch!" Ashlock said as he detached hundreds of the fruit all at once, making them plummet toward the hard stone below.

Stella clicked her tongue. The air rippled as she spread her telekinetic power—freezing all the fruit in place. Then, with a wave of her hand and a flash of silvery light, the fruit vanished into one of her spatial rings.

Ashlock left her to sleep peacefully and let his gaze wander. It felt weird to see Diana and Douglas cultivating so peacefully without having to rush around doing things.

"I suppose it was a full month of chaos leading up to the tournament, so they never had time to catch up on their cultivation," Ashlock thought as his gaze settled on his Ents that stood there silently like statues.

"I could send them out to hunt, but that seems incredibly wasteful. They cost so much to power and are too slow to walk around without my constant help with portals," Ashlock sighed.

In truth, Khaos was likely fast enough for hunting—especially if she could use Void Step. Alas, the mere idea of trying to convert his spatial Qi into void Qi was enough to make him sweat sap.

"Wait... now that I have these Ents here, there is no need for Larry to be my guardian beast." Ashlock had kept Larry close to him after recent events and not allowed the spider to go out hunting very often. But with three Star Core Ents under his control and his own strength—Maple hanging around as a last-resort trump card should be enough.

"Hey Larry," Ashlock said through the black Qi tether—one of the demonic trees rustled as multiple long hairy legs emerged from the canopy and eight red eyes locked onto him.

"Take Kaida and go out into the wilderness to hunt; the Mystic Realm doesn't open for a few weeks, so there's no point in you hanging around here."

"The Ents can guard me," Ashlock explained, "But I'm hungry and need snacks. Do you think you could get some for me?"

"Alright, alright. Just make sure you and Kaida eat some, too. I need you both to get stronger, after all."

Larry happily agreed to his new mission. He crawled down from the tree, exposing his entire ashen-furred body, and then crossed the mountain peak toward Diana.

He then carefully pulled Kaida away from the cultivating girl with his leg. The sleepy snake seemed annoyed as he hissed at the spider, but Larry wasn't taking no for an answer as he kidnapped Kaida and headed out into the wilderness with glee.

***

Elaine strode through the hallway of the Academy toward her lecture with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. It was tough to control her expression while walking past the groups of students en route to their next lectures.

No matter how hard she focused on the decor of the corridor ceiling, it was impossible not to feel the intense glares from the many students roaming the Academy.

Hushed whispers barely concealed by the amateur cultivator's Qi reached her ears. Some commented on her looks, and others gossiped about her subpar lectures to their friends.

It dampened her bright mood from talking to Stella and the Patriarch, but that was for the best, as she needed to focus—she was already two minutes late to her lecture.

Pushing apart the grand wooden doors, Elaine strode in.

Elaine thankfully regained her composure within half a step to avoid further embarrassment in front of so many eyes and made her way to the podium.

Buying time, Elaine turned to the giant blank silvery board behind her and began writing the lecture title as slowly as possible.

The room was dead silent.

Turning on her heel, she surveyed the crowd and faltered. There was no way she could give the lecture with the curiosity gnawing at her mind.

"Before we begin, could someone tell me why so many of you are here?"

Over a hundred hands went up.