Grand Elder Redclaw watched Elder Mo collapse to his knees, grasping at his throat while he choked. His balding head was on full display as he threw his head back, and his eyes stared wide-eyed at the distorted sky.
Is this supposed to happen? It looks like he is dying.
Unsure of the situation, the Grand Elder remained stoic as he watched with worry gripping his heart. Elder Mo may be a bitter old man, but at the 8th stage of the Soul Fire Realm, he was one of the strongest in his family and an excellent teacher to the younger generation. To lose him here would not only be a massive blow to his family's current strength but also its future prospects.
"Elder Mo!" Amber, the youngest Redclaw present, couldn't hold back her worry and stepped forward, but the ever-stern Elder Margret stopped her advance with an iron grip on the young woman's shoulder.
"Trust the process." Elder Margret hissed under her breath, "Elder Mo is already near the end of his lifespan."
Upon Elder Margret's words, Amber fell silent and stepped back. It was a silent truth among cultivators, but once someone reached the end of their lifespan due to a bottleneck, it was expected for the cultivator to go insane while furiously searching for a way to overcome their impending mortality.
Basically, if Elder Mo died here, it was worth taking the chance. His death was a few decades away at most, so taking a gamble, no matter how foolish, was all Elder Mo could do at this point, and trying to 'save' him right now would only backfire in more ways than one.
"Ahhhhh." Elder Mo screamed as something from within his body pried his mouth open. Grand Elder Redclaw watched in horror as a shifting black mass that he recognized as demonic Qi by its feeling of wrongness crawled out of Elder Mo's mouth.
Like void Qi, demonic Qi was difficult to deal with because it reacted violently to natural types of Qi. So the Grand Elder, despite being in the Star Core Realm, wasn't confident he could defeat this seemingly sentient mass of demonic Qi.
Nevertheless, his Star Core burned in his chest as he directed his crimson soul fire to his hands, ready to try obliterating the abomination leaving the screaming Elder's mouth.
Elder Brent, Margret, and Amber followed suit. Stepping forward with various degrees of crimson flames enshrouding their hands.
"Don't worry. I'll handle it." The Grand Elder didn't need to look toward the masked individuals of the Ashfallen Sect to know who was speaking. With about as much enthusiasm as a Qi-less sloth, Diana stepped forward with blue soul flames with a hint of darkness flowing from her fingers.
She reached toward the demonic Qi phantom and blasted it with her soul fire. It screeched as it was burned alive, and everyone stood watching as the blue soul fire traveled down the length of the demonic Qi phantom body and into Elder Mo's throat.
The phantom was slowly corrupted, turning into a black drool that leaked down the sides of the Elder's face.
Elder Mo violently coughed and staggered to his feet. A while passed, and eventually, he managed to get himself together.
He began to howl with laughter, making the Grand Elder concerned about his sanity.
"I can feel it! Haha!" Elder Mo shouted to the heavens more joyfully than he had seen out of the old bastard for centuries.
"Elder Mo," The Grand Elder questioned, concern dripping from his tone, "Are you alright? Did the truffle work? What can you feel?"
His voice had a hint of urgency, but curiosity was getting the better of him.
"It's gone! It's really gone! Haha!" Elder Mo half ignored his words as he shouted nonsense. Walking over with embarrassment, the Grand Elder gripped the shorter man's shoulder, "Elder Mo, get a hold of yourself. We are in the presence of an immortal."
Elder Mo froze, fear flashing across his aged face. "Forgive me... I was overwhelmed with emotion and lost my composure."
"It's fine, Elder Mo. Now tell me, what happened." The Grand Elder pressured. If that truffle really worked, it would be one of the most valuable things a demonic cultivator could ever lay their hands on. In pursuit of rapid power, most demonic cultivators cultivated with the demonic Qi from beast cores. So long as they did it in moderation, it was possible to resist the heart demons that would fester.
But if a truffle emerged that could purge heart demons from a cultivator, then the cultivators of demonic sects could rapidly rise in power from overconsumption of beast cores and mitigate its downsides.
"It worked." Elder Mo said with a hint of awe, "It really worked. My body is free of heart demons. I believe overcoming my bottleneck is now just a matter of time."
The Grand Elder recoiled a little when he saw tears at the edge of the centuries-old man's eyes, "Grand Elder, I'm not fated for death anymore! My life is worth living again..."
"Right..." The Grand Elder released his grip and stepped back.
Best not to associate with this nutcase too much until I see the Ashfallen Sect's reaction.
Glancing over, he mentally groaned. It wasn't fair they got to hide their expressions with masks. For all he knew, they were just as surprised as him that the truffle actually worked, or maybe they were all bored as they had seen this scene before. He sadly had no way of knowing.
"Ashfallen Sect," Elder Mo said as he gave them a deep bow, "As the generous people that have given this old man hope, I would once again like to express my deep loyalty toward you."
"That was actually going to be my next point." Stella's voice drew everyone's attention, "The Ashfallen Sect will not be leaving with the Blood Lotus Sect and escaping the beast tide. That truffle you just ate, and these special fruits can only be grown by the spirit tree behind me on this mountaintop. To move the tree is impossible."
"But the merchants that have seen the gathering of beasts up north claim this will be the largest one yet." The Grand Elder countered, "It could be to the point where even the immortal may struggle to keep all of us alive."
Cultivators can only operate as long as they have Qi. Even an immortal may struggle to fight against the largest beast tide to date alone, especially since he hasn't shown himself to us he might be injured or half dead. To put my entire family and my own safety in an unknown immortal's hands is far too risky.
At those thoughts, the Grand Elder felt the phantom chains of his oath tighten slightly around his Star Core.
Stella tapped the truffle on the table, "As mentioned before, this truffle can permanently improve your spirit root. Allowing you to absorb and cycle Qi faster. With this cultivation resource alongside the others and access to the mystic realm should be enough to allow everyone here to rapidly rise in cultivation."
She then surveyed all of the Redclaws and continued, "You have all pledged your loyalty to the Ashfallen Sect, and we choose to stay. The beast tide is still a few years away. We have time to become strong enough to fend it off."
Elder Mo was the first to break the silence, stumbling forward, collapsing to his knees, and kotowing toward the spirit tree. "My life is for the tree. If I must remain here until my final fleeting breath and my Qi runs dry, then so be it."
"Thank you, Elder Mo," Stella said as she looked toward the Grand Elder, "We aren't giving you these precious cultivation resources for free. Your strength is for the Ashfallen Sect."
The Grand Elder reached up and felt the cold phantom chains around his Star Core that signified his eternal oath of loyalty. So long as he drew breath and the tree stood tall, he was bound to this land.
This is all crazy, but if the claims of this pocket realm and those cultivation resources are true, then surviving the beast tide might be possible.
The Grand Elder hated to admit it, but a sliver of greed slipped into his consciousness. At the end of the day, he was a cultivator in the pursuit of immortality. When he reframed this demand as a trial sent by the heavens to test his resolve, he couldn't help but smile.
When was the last time he had been needed by someone? The Blood Lotus sect hadn't been at war for a long time, and his days on the battlefield were nothing more than fleeting dreams. He was an old man living out his last centuries peacefully and quietly.
Perhaps it was time to fight again.
***
Stella patiently waited for the Redclaw Grand Elder's acceptance. At the end of the day, if she ordered something on behalf of the Ashfallen Sect, the oath would be activated, and they had no choice but to agree.
Why did Ash tell me to approach the negotiations like this? He even told me to let them see and try his precious fruit? I thought we would just chuck them into the mystic realm and see if any of them managed to crawl out alive.
Stella ground her teeth behind her mask. She found having to act as the representative infuriating, but Diana had insisted she take the role for practice.
Glancing to the side at the culprit who had forced her into this role, she saw Diana reaching down and picking up Kaida, who had been coiling around her leg for the last few minutes. The inky snake happily licked at Diana's neck as he took his rightful place on her shoulders.
Stella reached up and didn't feel Maple on her head. Looking to the side, she noticed Maple relaxing in the sun on Larry's back. The large spider's eyes were glaring at Elaine, never leaving her for a moment.
I bet Tree asked his pet to keep a sharp eye on Elaine.
Stella felt her mind wandering, totally bored and irritated with her current role. If not for the mask, she feared her ability to maintain a presentable facade would overwhelm her.
"Stella, I believe your proposal has merit," The Grand Elder eventually answered, "We need to get stronger. I couldn't even leave a lasting impact on that worm monster from a few days ago, and the beast tide will comprise thousands of monsters far stronger than that worm was. But if you have such rare cultivation resources and access to pocket dimensions, it may be possible to train us all up to a point we can fend the beast tide off."
Stella honestly didn't care about the Grand Elder's speech. She would remain here with Tree whether she had the strength to fend off the beast tide or not, as she trusted that Tree would take care of her somehow.
"Perfect. With your help, I believe we can overcome the looming threat." Stella said with as much fake enthusiasm as she could muster. "Please step forward and retrieve all of the cultivation resources we have designated for you. I assume you all remembered what each one does from earlier?"
They all nodded.
Even though Tree had provided her with skin-improving truffles, she had deliberately kept them in her spatial ring. They weren't necessary for advancing cultivation, and she didn't like the idea of these old men suddenly turning into handsome teenagers. The drastic change in Elaine had been disorienting enough.
The Redclaws formed a line based on authority, so the Grand Elder was the first to step up to the table and receive his bundle of fruit and truffles. Waving his hand over the stone table, his spatial ring flashed with power, and the pile vanished.
"Should I use any of them now?" The Grand Elder inquired, and Stella realized she hadn't explained that part yet.
"Listen up! Before entering the mystic realm, you should consume the truffles as they provide permanent effects that will help with your cultivation inside." She then looked down at the pile of fruits, trying to remember the names that Tree had told her earlier.
Wait, did I forget one of the truffles... I know the beauty one is taken out, but there's still one missing. Ah! The dao enlightenment one that I took and then Larry distracted me in the past. Should I also not give it to them because they were the one's the caused me to waste it... That's maybe too spiteful.
Stella's ring flashed, and another truffle appeared on the table, earning a raised brow from the Grand Elder.
"I forgot one. This truffle lets you understand the language of heaven. It's the only one I would save for using in the mystic realm."
The Grand Elder picked it up as if it were the most precious treasure and deposited it into his spatial ring. "If these truffles are capable of even a fraction of what you claim, they are undeniably precious, so you have my eternal gratitude."
Stella shrugged. It wasn't like she grew these truffles and fruit, so the praise was wasted on her. With the Grand Elder still standing there, she remembered his previous question and pointed at the fruit.
"Where was I... ah yes, you asked what fruit to consume now and which to save for the mystic realm? I would say that fruits providing deep meditation, enlightenment, and mind fortress might be ideal to consume in the pocket realm to boost your cultivation speed as you will only remain there for a month, so every second counts." Stella then pointed at the other fruit in another neat pile, "Lightning Qi barrier and neural root may also be useful, depending on the situation. However, I would save the language comprehension and others for when you return."
The Grand Elder slowly nodded, walked off to the side, and found a nice spot within the Qi gathering formation to sit cross-legged. While Stella handed out the fruit and truffles to the other Redclaws, she kept the Grand Elder in the corner of her eye.
He was inspecting the truffle and running his finger across its surface. He even tried sniffing it. Eventually, he chucked it into his mouth and seemingly disliked the taste as his face twisted.
That's certainly the spirit improvement truffle.
Stella was very curious to see how the truffle would work on someone in the Star Core Realm. She had absolute faith in Tree's cultivation resources, but even she knew to keep her expectations within reason.
The stronger a cultivator got, the less impact the same resource would have. It's likely why the skin improvement truffle did little for her but altered Elaine so much, as she was many stages in the Soul Fire Realm weaker than her.
The rest of the Redclaws sat down one by one in a circle.
Elder Mo, still giddy after ridding himself of his heart demons, sat down a few meters from his Grand Elder and gingerly consumed the spirit root improvement truffle alongside Amber.
Meanwhile, the other two Elders chose to start with the truffle that removed heart demons, so Diana had to step in and vanquish the demonic Qi phantoms that tried crawling out. Surprisingly, Elder Margret had an even more vicious heart demon crawl its way out of her throat than Elder Mo's.
"Alright, Douglas, you should join them as well," Stella said to the large man, handing him a handful of fruits and truffles, "You will be entering the mystic realm alongside all of us."
Douglas excitedly took the provided cultivation resources and scurried off to sit in the circle.
"What about me?" Elaine asked quietly, her head slightly drooping.
"Well, since your skills are lacking too much to enter the mystic realm, you will stay here with Tree," Stella said as her spatial ring flashed and a bundle of parchments appeared in her hands, "Take these and learn the ancient runic language so you can converse with Tree as it will just be you two for the next week."
"What about... errr, was his name Larry?" Elaine gestured to the giant spider that was still glaring at her.
Stella nodded, "Yeah, he will be staying here to watch over you and protect Tree while we are gone."
"Right... okay." Elaine took the parchments and was surprised when Stella also put a heap of fruit and truffles on top.
"Don't forget to eat the language comprehension fruit while studying." Stella left with those departing words as she turned her attention to the circle of people cultivating. She also planned to join them and push every bit of Qi she could into her Soul Core before entering the mystic realm that would open in two days.
I'm going to reach the Star Core Realm no matter what. Nothing can stop me from being the most useful for Tree.
A cold smile bloomed on her face behind the mask as she eyed her competition.
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