Ashlock knew there was a slim chance of getting denied by Elaine. Hence he had offered her two options, but it was a little unexpected that she had openly stated her support for her bloodline while standing before her Uncle's killer.
"I obviously know almost nothing about Elaine, but I had been under the assumption that most cultivators in the demonic sects were willing to backstab family in favor of power." Ashlock mused as he glanced over everyone standing before his trunk, awaiting his decision. "Perhaps she is this against saying an oath because she hasn't actually seen my cultivation resources yet?"
Either way, she was stupidly stubborn, overconfident in her value, or incredibly naive. To speak in such a way to someone so much more powerful than her while surrounded by foes truly baffled Ashlock.
"Unless..." His gaze shifted to Douglas and Elaine's hands. "Is Douglas giving her the confidence to defy me?"
If so, wasn't Douglas technically defying his oath of loyalty indirectly? Shouldn't the heavens be striking him down? Or were oaths more subjective to the individual than he had first thought? If Douglas believed in his heart and soul that he was not betraying him by trying to win Elaine over to the sect, then what was he to do?
Ashlock honestly found this whole situation a massive headache and a great annoyance. He had just survived a near-death attack by a Star Core worm, and he needed strong, reliable people around him to prevent more incidents like this from occurring in the future.
Yet, sect politics were getting in the way, and he couldn't have Stella fully manage the sect as some of her worldviews and ideas were still immature due to her unique upbringing and young age.
And to put Diana in charge would infuriate Stella and strain their relationship.
"I'm getting off topic." Ashlock sighed, "Alright, let's take this one step at a time. Elaine is valuable as a sect member. She has a lot of knowledge I greatly lack, and void affinity is one of the most fearsome things I have ever encountered. If I wasn't immune to it due to my divinity, I would have had my eye ripped out and been chopped up into logs by that Voidmind Elder."
With Elaine established as valuable, Ashlock needed to figure out a way to bring her over to his side without excessive force, as that would strain his relationship with Douglas, who had been a relatively loyal and hard worker thus far.
"Although she is only valuable to me if she is loyal and doesn't speak about me to her family. Eventually, I will become strong enough to have no fear of the Voidmind family, but until then, I must sadly rely on oaths, as disloyalty is far too risky."
Ashlock knew he acted rather paranoid, but as a tree that could not move; he already had enough things trying to kill him without having his existence known to anyone outside his tight circle. He would eradicate loose ends until the end of time. Arrogance was the greatest killer in a world like this.
"Since oaths are not as secure as I had first thought, it's best to try and win her over through rewards and kindness, although I will still request for an oath of secrecy." Ashlock mulled, "Unlike Douglas and the Redclaw Grand Elder, which have rather replaceable skill sets, Elaine has both useful knowledge and a super strong affinity, so it's worth going the extra mile to reel her in."
Ashlock sighed once again as he came to a decision. He would need to figure out a better chain of command and a way to bring new talent to the sect. There was no way he would interact personally and try to win over hundreds or thousands of people like this.
He glanced at Stella and ruled her out as someone who could handle that task. Diana also wasn't fit for the job, nor was Douglas, Elaine, or any of his guardians.
"Oh... I should get the Redclaws to manage this in the future."
The answer had been so obvious. Elaine was a special case, but he would definitely make the Redclaws handle sect recruitment in the future. "Anyway, time to give my decision. Let's hope she agrees..."
***
Elaine felt sick.
She put on the strongest facade she could, but this was the most stressful situation she had ever faced in her entire life. Her father had warned her about oaths. They were basically slave contracts usually used by cultists or shady individuals who didn't want information leaked, as those with a true purpose or the strength to back up their words did not require heaven's interference.
Although she didn't say it out loud, she was beyond skeptical about this whole thing, especially once this supposed immortal that wasn't even showing himself brought up an oath.
Yes, she may die here due to her arrogance, but in her opinion, that was far better than betraying her family and being a slave to the person who had murdered her Uncle.
They said my Uncle paid for his life because he tried to fight this supposed immortal. If he really is dead, there's a good chance there is someone inside or below that weird tree more powerful than my Uncle, but there's also a chance my Uncle is still alive, trapped somewhere, or was caught by surprise. So all I have is their word that he is dead and deserved it.
What Elaine needed was time.
She needed to find a way to somehow delay being forced into saying an oath of absolute loyalty. With time she could uncover the truth behind this Ashfallen Sect to deem whether it's worth betraying her family for and pledging her eternal loyalty.
And if the whole thing turned out to be fake, as she suspected, there was the upcoming tournament where she could get her brother to save her.
She just needed time. Only fools signed a one-sided deal.
They said you were valuable. Otherwise, they would have just killed you earlier.
Elaine squeezed Douglas's warm hand. His looming presence gave her a thin strand of hope.
A moment passed, and a wave of anxiety washed over her as she saw that stupidly pure spatial Qi write words she couldn't understand.
"The immortal wishes to avoid a war with your family." Stella slowly read out. Clearly, she wasn't fluent in the mysterious language and had to translate the words one by one.
"Therefore, he believes reciting an oath of secrecy regarding your involvement with us and what happened to your Uncle is reasonable. In exchange, he will give you a cultivation resource and welcome you into the sect."
Elaine bit her lower lip and flexed her fingers. An oath of secrecy was much better than one of loyalty.
If my family can somehow figure out what happened to Uncle without my help, then I won't be forced to fight my family alongside my Uncle's killer. This gives me a lot more flexibility and options while still allowing them to cover their backs. Smart. I must be missing something here... but I can't figure out what.
Her mind raced, and she debated asking to be given a day to mull over her thoughts, but on the other hand, she felt like she was about to pass out from stress and nerves. Although they had been more hospitable than expected to a prisoner, she was still pushing her luck.
This oath gives them peace of mind while also giving me more time. It should be fine...
"Immortal, I accept your oath of secrecy." Elaine stepped forward, releasing her hand from Douglas. "Tell me the exact terms of the oath and to whom I should recite it."
Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she could hear it in her ears as soul-fire words manifested on the black trunk of the tree.
"You will not mention or try to convey anything regarding the Ashfallen Sect, including its members and activities, to anyone not recognized as an Ashfallen Sect member." Stella slowly read out. "Furthermore, you will never disclose what you know about your uncle's disappearance."
There was a short silence as the words vanished and new ones materialized.
"As an oath done under the heavens, failure to abide by the sworn oath will result in the crippling of your cultivation." Stella then gestured toward the enormous spider that had hunted her down, "And Larry will be sent to dispose of you."
Elaine gulped, and to make matters worse, the trunk of the tree suddenly cracked open like an accursed maw, and through the darkness peered an eye that was incomprehensible to her mind. It made her feel like there was a soup of eyes invading her mind, as they superimposed on each other in an eternal cycle that made her dizzy.
A shadow loomed over her, dispersing the visions plaguing her mind and giving her a moment of salvation. She felt vomit rise up her throat, but she barely managed to keep it down. Her breath was shaky, and sweat dripped from her forehead and clouded her glasses.
The shadow loomed closer, casting her in darkness. Apprehensively, she looked up, wiping her glasses with quivering hands, and came face to face with Stella, the blonde-haired girl. Her mask was removed, and she could see her perfect skin and crazed pink eyes that seemed to glow with power.
"You have gazed upon the immortal and know the terms of the oath." Stella said with a smirk, "Now recite the oath to him so we may move on from this nonsense."
Elaine looked past the crazy person taking up the majority of her view at Douglas, who was standing off to the side. He seemed apprehensive about stepping in to help her here.
He must fear this girl somewhat. If I don't recite the oath, I really fear she will stab me in the throat.
Elaine stood up on shaking legs and looked straight at the tree. She slowed her breathing and thought back to that unsettling gaze.
"I, Elaine Voidmind, pledge secrecy to the immortal of the Ashfallen Sect. I will not mention or try to convey anything regarding the Ashfallen Sect, including its members and activities, to anyone not recognized as an Ashfallen Sect member. I will also not disclose any information I know about my Uncle's disappearance to anyone."
As the final word left her mouth, she felt a pressure from above gaze down on her as if heaven had taken an interest in the oath. She had never heard of any mention of this phenomenon before.
She then felt as if phantom chains had wrapped around her Soul Core, and she instinctively knew in the back of her mind what would happen if she broke the oath.
Her death would be inevitable.
***
Ashlock let out a long sigh of relief. Of course, it wasn't the perfect outcome, as he would have much preferred an oath of loyalty, but this should be good enough for now. He wanted allies that would cultivate immortality and surround him for eternity, so creating a divide between his sect members this early on by forcing Elaine with an ultimatum of loyalty was a terrible idea.
"Larry." Ashlock said through the tether, "Continue to keep an eye on her."
He thought about adding that Larry should kill Elaine if she betrayed him, but he didn't trust the spider to discern what counted as a betrayal.
Receiving a grunt of agreement, he watched as everyone surrounded the newest member of the sect. With the reciting of the oath, as agreed, she was now a member just like Douglas.
Diana also removed her mask and pat Elaine on the shoulder while appraising her with her dull eyes.
"D-Diana, right?" Elaine asked as Douglas moved in to stand beside her.
"Yeah, that's me," Diana said flatly, "Welcome to the Ashfallen Sect."
She then raised the snake, "This is Kaida. He is one of the immortal's pets."
Elaine apprehensively patted the large snake on the head, earning a hiss.
"Wait... since when did Kaida finish his evolution?" Ashlock only now noticed the large snake coiled around Diana's shoulders.
While Diana spoke with Elaine, Stella sneaked over to stand beside Ashlock and whispered while distorting her voice with spatial Qi. "Should we tell Elaine about the truth? That you are the Patriarch? If we have Elaine hanging around us all day, one of us will inevitably let it slip by accident."
The paranoia in the back of his mind wanted to lock Elaine up in the cavern and tell everyone to ignore her to keep that information secret, but he acknowledged that wasn't possible.
"Best to get it out of the way," Ashlock grumbled and flashed his leaf once to tell Stella it was alright to proceed. Of course, he expected Elaine to become skeptical, but hopefully, offering her a skin improvement truffle would convince her that almost everything else wasn't a lie.
Stella strode over to Elaine, "I have a confession to make, Elaine."
Elaine shrunk back into Douglas's side, clearly quite terrified of Stella.
"Yes...?"
"The Ashfallen Sect is ruled by its Patriarch, Ashlock." Stella gestured to the demonic tree lording over the mountain peak, "Although we tell everyone there's an immortal that rules the sect, that's technically not true... although the tree is sort of immortal."
Elaine tilted her head, a frown forming on her face. "So, what are you implying?"
Douglas laughed heartily as he patted Elaine's back, "It means these nutters take orders from a fucking tree!"
Stella crossed her arms and glared at Douglas, "You do as well."
"I know!" Douglas wiped a tear from his eye, "It's still hilarious to me, but I have to admit, he is one bloody good Patriarch."
"I don't understand!" Elaine tugged on Douglas's arm but became distracted as the stone cracked open nearby her foot, and a root poked out. Growing on its tip was a single truffle.
Stella plucked the truffle and handed it to the confused Elaine. "Go back down to the cavern with Douglas and consume this truffle. It will make your skin as perfect as mine and Diana's."
Elaine's eyes went wide as she glanced between the maskless girls. She then clutched the truffle close to her chest and gave Stella a small nod.
Ashlock was curious to see her reaction and enthusiasm regarding the Ashfallen Sect once she had consumed that truffle. However, in the meantime, he needed everyone to do things while they waited for the Mystic Realm to open up again.
"I need Douglas to integrate Elaine into the sect and explain things to her, and then I need him to help Stella with the formations. Ideally, I want both the concealment and Qi gathering formation completed within the next three days."
Ashlock wrote out his orders on his trunk in lilac flames, and Stella relayed them to everyone.
Opening a rift to the cavern below, Elaine stepped through without delay, and Douglas gave Ashlock a hearty grin and thumbs up before following.
"At least he's happy." Ashlock chuckled and watched as Stella wasted no time returning to work on the concealment formation, which was by far the most important right now, as he didn't have the Qi spare to maintain the spatial distortion technique.
"I must keep some Qi in reserve and refill my Star Core in case I get attacked again. As for the worm..." Ashlock shifted his view to the wilderness, and sure enough, the monstrous worm was loitering below the wall of demonic trees, likely for the same reason it had been there the first time.
It was hunting to regain its strength.
As within just an hour or so, there was already a small gathering of monsters. All of them were weak and unlikely to provide many sacrificial credits, so Ashlock left them alone.
"Best to leave the bait out to keep the worm happy and away from me." Ashlock mused. He was still excited to capture and kill the monster for all those juicy sacrificial credits, but that would have to wait for now. He needed his sect to become stronger first.
"Tree!" Stella hollered from the side of the mountain peak. "I need your help with the runic formation!"
"Oh yeah, I was helping her before the whole worm incident." Ashlock found the giant sword dumped off to the side, picked it back up with a black vine from his {Consuming Abyss} skill, and returned to work.
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