[Tree] Chapter 664: Sword Dao (Patreon)

The battle between Sovereigns was over.

Uldrenneth lay dead in pieces on the seabed, and Yun Zhilan had flown off to the Coralspear Sect, where Kaida, Diana, and Morrigan were waiting to meet her.

And yet, the two Sovereigns' domains continued to battle for dominance over the ocean's deep.

"What a mess," Ashlock sighed as he flew Moros through the remnants of Yun Zhilan's sixth wave, pushing back against a rising seabed. Any normal ship would have been torn apart by the chaos, but Moros was no ordinary airship. It shifted in and out of the aether to collect the scattered chunks of Uldrenneth.

Ashlock had to fly Moros into the depths of the second trench for a few bus-sized slabs of meat, then return to the shallows to collect all the tentacles. He had his {Abyssal Maw [S]} skill working overtime to process all of the Qi-filled meat into sacrificial credits.

"I've only got a few hundred credits at the moment, and I desperately need the Qi from this to repair the cracks in my Inner World after firing my Crown of the Withered Sovereign," Ashlock muttered, glancing at the system message flashing in the corner of his mind.

[Your Soul Cosmos is fractured and unstable from excessive Qi expenditure. It must be restored before you can handle the substantial pending offering of Qi and Dao knowledge from Stella's return]

Ashlock felt the system desperately holding back many months of Aether Qi just beyond the reach of his Soul Cosmos, like a dam. Inheriting the Sword Dao Stella had mentioned learning was also pending. How and when Stella had mastered a conceptual dao like Sword Dao, Ashlock had no idea. Though he fully intended to enter the land of dreams and master it.

"But before I can sleep, I need to decide what to do with Uldrenneth's infant soul," Ashlock mused as he glanced through the ocean at Morthex, who was leading its army of sea Ents to annihilate the monsters that had fled the Great Trench. As if that wasn't overkill, Bob had pulled himself together into a black-and-gold mass that shifted through the deep and devoured anything that tried to flee.

His two Generals were enjoying a sea buffet.

"Morthex could devour it for cultivation, or turn it into a wraith. Both are easy options, but I shouldn't be considering easy options when it comes to a Sovereign's infant soul." Ashlock sighed and called upon Nyxalia. His Mythical-grade summon walked through a portal on Moros's deck, glanced at the pile of Sovereign sashimi his Abyssal Maw was devouring, and then at Erebus.

"Master, you called?"

"Morthex has a Sovereign's infant soul trapped within its domain," Ashlock explained. "I want you to bring it and a suitable vessel from Morthex's army to my Inner World."

Nyxalia raised a brow. "Are we repeating what we did with Sol?"

"Indeed. I want to turn Uldrenneth's infant soul into an Ent, but I'm already devouring his body, so a soul transplant into a new vessel is the only way."

"Understood," Nyxalia said and vanished without another word.

Ashlock floated Moros to the Coralspear Sect and quickly checked on Yun Zhilan. She was in the Coralspear Palace's grand hall, kneeling before Kaida, her expression pained. Dozens of black scales orbited her in rings, creating a formation that seemed to draw Uldrenneth's blood from her body.

"How is she?" Ashlock asked Kaida directly.

"She will live," Kaida replied mentally. "After a few hours, all of the blood will be out of her system, but it will take many resources to restore her ruined body."

"And what about the oath of loyalty?"

Kaida shook his head, looking annoyed. "Ensuring a Monarch's loyalty is already tricky, but a Sovereign is impossible."

"Impossible in general, or impossible for you?

Kaida grimaced.

"Perhaps it's time you went into the Eternal Realm to train instead of spending all your time messing around," Ashlock said seriously and knew he'd struck a nerve from the way Kaida glared at him. "Sorry, but it's the truth. You have insane potential, Kaida, more than almost anyone in the sect. But you waste it."

Ashlock knew his words were harsh, but they were pushing into the 8th Layer now. Stella had shown her new prowess, so he wasn't worried about holding their own. But if Kaida's heavenly contracts were already useless against Sovereigns, how would Kaida deal with high-realm cultivators like those from the Tessellate Citadel in the near future?

Kaida bared his fangs, but didn't refute it.

"Khaos."

The headless void Ent appeared behind Yun Zhilan, but the Sovereign was in too much pain to notice.

"Watch over Yun Zhilan until Kaida can get her bound with a Heavenly oath. Report anything suspicious to me, and if you believe Yun Zhilan needs to be eliminated, call for Stella."

Khaos bowed in acknowledgment and vanished into the void.

"Diana," Ashlock said, his voice echoing into the minds of everyone present.

"Yes, Master?" Diana said. It felt odd for Diana to call him Master, but Ferrin, Gorran, Torvun, and others were in the room, so he understood she was putting on an act.

"Once Yun Zhilan is freed from the plague of Uldrenneth's blood, devour her heart demons and then give her all the pills and truffles she requires to recover. Afterward, explain that she will remain in charge of the Sunken Crown Isles but is expected to answer to you."

Ashlock knew Yun Zhilan was a liar, which is why he had hoped Kaida's oath of loyalty could place some control on that twisted part of her personality. But his empire needed strong and competent people to oversee it, and while she lied about many things, her heart had been in the right place.

The other reason he wanted her alive was her connections to the Jade Emperor's Consortium. Although the outpost had been destroyed, it had stood on her island for hundreds of years. She likely had good relations with them and could help him infiltrate their ranks once he reached the mainland.

"As you wish," Diana said, licking her lips. Yun Zhilan's heart demon would no doubt be a delight.

Ashlock left them to it and shifted his focus away from the 8th Layer to his Inner World. The cracks in his Soul Cosmos were slowly healing as Qi from Uldrenneth's corpse flowed into them like water on dry soil.

Stella stood on the shore of his Inner World's ocean, gazing up at his sky. A soft breeze played with her blonde hair and made her maple leaf earrings sway. The moment she sensed his gaze, she smiled.

"Tree, it feels like it's been so long since I've spoken to you," she said softly.

"I suppose for you it has been around five months?" Ashlock chuckled. "Only been a week for me."

"Five months?" Stella glanced his way. "It's been over five years, Tree! Surely you're not counting that single day I came back as a real break from the Tessellate Citadel, are you?"

"I'll admit, I separated your two visits in my mind."

Stella sighed heavily and sat down on the black sand beach. "Well, I certainly don't. What was a week for you was a grueling five months for me to finally reach the Sovereign of the Realities Realm."

"A crowning achievement, and without you reaching such heights, killing Uldrenneth would have been difficult or outright impossible. And yet... you don't seem happy about it?"

Stella leaned back against her arms and stared out across the ocean for a while before answering.

"I... turned 24 a few months ago. Kael threw a small party for me. It was nice, but I spent the whole day wondering if you or Bob would show up like last time to surprise me."

"Oh, Stella—I can't believe I missed it. I mean, I was so busy with expanding into the 8th Layer that it slipped my mind, and with the constantly shifting time dilation, knowing exactly which hour correlates to your birthday would have been impossible..." Ashlock trailed off as he saw Stella's face and realized she already knew all of that.

What she was looking for wasn't a solution or an explanation.

"I'm sorry, Stella. I should have been there."

"No, it's okay," Stella sniffled and wiped her face with her sleeve. "Caring about birthdays is silly at my age anyway. I suppose the years spent away from home just wore me down is all."

Stella returning from the Eternal Realm as a Sovereign and effortlessly killing Uldrenneth without hesitation had made her almost unrecognizable to Ashlock. Yet right now, she seemed her usual, vulnerable self, and it filled his soul with warmth to see she hadn't changed.

"Stella, I'm a tree that sleeps winters away, and I still count the days leading to my birthday—which is in less than a month. I'm sorry I missed yours, but why don't we share a birthday again and celebrate together?" Ashlock suggested. "That way you get an Eternal Realm birthday party and one at home!"

A small smile tugged at the edges of Stella's lips as she drew rings in the sand. "I can really have two birthdays?"

"Sure, why not? I think it's a fair rule that if your birthday is spent inside the Eternal Realm, then you can celebrate it again when you return home."

"Okay. I find this arrangement acceptable." Stella paused and grinned. "But you missed multiple birthdays, so I expect extra presents."

"That's fair," Ashlock agreed. "I'll start thinking of what to get you—"

[You have successfully devoured the Sovereign Uldrenneth]

[+10,382 SC]

A pulse of Qi echoed across the sky of his Inner World as his cultivation level shot past the 3rd stage and landed in the 4th stage of the Monarch Realm.

Idletree Daily Sign-In System

Day: 3994

Daily Credit: 6

Sacrifice Credit: 10,855

[Sign in?]

Ashlock marveled at the number of credits as another system message overlaid it.

[Demonic Demi-Divine Tree (Age: 10)]

[Monarch Realm: 4th Stage]

[Soul Type: Nine Moons (Desolation)]

"Tree?" Stella tilted her head. "Did something bad happen?"

"No, no, quite the opposite. I finished devouring Uldrenneth, and he provided me with more than I'd hoped." Ashlock dismissed the system prompts and focused back on Stella. "Speaking of which, how did you come to learn Sword Dao?"

A small chuckle escaped Stella's lips. "That's a long story."

"Oh, come on."

Stella's eyes shifted about. "I... uh, made a promise to Lady Solari that I have no intention of keeping."

That didn't sound good. As if sensing his judgmental gaze, Stella rushed to explain.

"It's nothing serious, I promise. I just... had no choice. I couldn't find a way to visualize how the aether could permanently alter reality, and after I explained my problems, Lady Solari offered to teach me Sword Dao."

"In exchange for what?"

Stella fell back against the sand and stared at the sky. "A date—kind of. She thinks I would be a good match for her brother, so I agreed to meet him one day. That's it."

"A simple meeting was enough for her to teach you Sword Dao?"

Stella snorted. "No. Lady Solari only lent me a broken spiritual sword from her family that contained whispers of Sword Dao. I spent more time with the sword than myself over a few months until it finally clicked. I'm still an amateur when compared to other Sword Dao practitioners like Lady Solari, but it gave me a more physical medium for my Aether Qi." She sighed. "In the end, I'd say I'm a far stronger Sovereign because of it. But it made my ascension take way longer than necessary."

"What level would you say your Sword Dao is at?"

Stella pondered for a moment. "About the same as my lightning Dao? Maybe a little better? Certainly nowhere close to Law comprehension."

"That makes sense. You only had a few months to assimilate it," Ashlock said, looking to the sky and noting the healed cracks. "I look forward to learning some Sword Dao myself, but right now, I'm curious how much Qi you gathered for me."

Stella looked up as he released the dam.

Fractals bleeding pale light arched across the sky, and Ashlock felt his cultivation rise another stage.

[Monarch Realm: 5th Stage]

[Comprehension of Aether Dao has drastically increased]

[You have successfully comprehended Aether Law]

[You have comprehended the conceptual dao of the Sword]

"Wait, I acquired Aether Law?" Ashlock muttered in disbelief. He had acquired many Laws by devouring Monarchs' souls during the conquest of the Celestial Empire. He had never gotten a Law simply from one of his sect members returning from the Eternal Realm.

"I did ascend to become a Sovereign." Stella shrugged. "It feels reasonable that a mere fragment of my understanding is a Law."

Ashlock glanced at her and couldn't tell if she was being her usual arrogant self or if Sovereigns really were that much more powerful than a Monarch.

"I suppose she was in there for five years, and this is Stella we are talking about..." Ashlock mused.

[Assimilation of Aether Law is pending. Do you wish to activate {Nocturnal Genesis [S]} to complete the assimilation of Aether Law?]

"Not yet," Ashlock said, dismissing the notification. He tore open a small rift and pulled out {The Sword of New Beginnings [?]} from his pocket dimension.

"Care for a duel, Stella?" Ashlock asked while pointing the demonic spirit sword at her. He could already feel the Sword Dao feeding into the bloodthirsty blade and changes occurring within it.

It was awakening.

Stella relaxed back on the sand with an amused expression. "Knock yourself out," she said, and her sword flew out of its scabbard.