Ashlock observed in hushed stillness as the colossal Cloud Titan eradicated the forest with each stride. The Titan's foot, a swirling vortex of fierce gales, hovered just above the ground, not quite making contact. Yet, much like a brutal hurricane, trees in close proximity were wrenched from their roots and hurled into the raging storm, tearing them apart.
A wall of clouds trailed behind the Titan like a divine cape, furiously consuming the landscape in its wake as though it were a relentless combine harvester.
Ashlock found himself utterly dumbstruck. Since entering this world, he had encountered numerous bizarre phenomena: towering ice golems, individuals soaring through the skies on swords, and cultivators exchanging blows faster than the eye could perceive.
However, this sentient tempest, hurling lightning with the might of Zeus, was sheer madness. The natural wrath of storms had always been a source of great dread for humanity, but this... this was beyond comprehension.
Ashlock felt his arrogance evaporate like water droplets on a summer day. Strongest in the region? Able to fend off the beast tide? It was always easy to let your ego cloud your judgment when you hear about something from those weaker than you.
A small voice in the back of his mind had whispered that just because they had to flee didn't mean he had to. He was superior to those other cultivators—his Qi was pure, his Star Core immense, his realm of control expansive, and he possessed a system to compensate for his shortcomings.
He was the chosen one, right?
Despite the considerable distance, Ashlock's leaves began to rustle as the cloud titan that appeared hellbent on his destruction strode over. From the periphery of his vision, he noticed a solitary man flying toward the storm, standing confidently atop a sword wreathed in crimson flames. The man's scarlet hair danced in the wind, and his aged face displayed a stoic expression in the face of impending disaster.
It was the Redclaw Grand Elder—why was he still above ground and foolish enough to face down something he couldn't defeat? It wasn't logical. Ashlock couldn't understand.
"You disgrace the land of an immortal, wandering Dao Storm!" The Grand Elder thundered as fiery phoenix wings, spanning a hundred meters, erupted from his arms. "Your insatiable lust for Qi will be your undoing!"
With a flick of his hand, the Grand Elder sent a searing wing of fire arcing across the sky, scorching the air in its wake and leaving an ethereal trail of steam. The blazing appendage collided with the cloud titan, and to Ashlock's amazement, the creature recoiled. A massive plume of steam billowed from the point of impact. Ashlock was well aware that the Titan was an amalgamation of water and wind Qi—elements that should have counteracted the pure fire Qi wielded by the Redclaws. Yet, against all odds, the Titan had faltered.
For the briefest of moments, the fear that gripped Ashlock diminished, and a glimmer of hope, akin to a radiant sunrise, blossomed within him. Had the Grand Elder truly inflicted damage upon that monstrous force of nature?
The wall of steam parted as a titanic hand of tempest reached forth as if trying to swat an annoying fly.
Standing steadfast on his flaming sword, the Grand Elder unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks using his manifested phoenix wings.
Yet, he was losing. From his aerial vantage point, Ashlock could see the vast storm trailing the Cloud Titan, funneling through its colossal form and replenishing the vaporized storm Qi. It was an unwinnable battle of attrition, with the Grand Elder resembling a valiant ant attempting to combat a deity armed with a mere lighter.
Despite the doom that crept back into Ashlock's mind, he found the Grand Elder's bravery broke him out of his rut. As the cloud titan drew nearer to his mountaintop sanctuary, Ashlock's strength grew. The closer the Titan came to his trunk, the more Qi he had at his disposal and the greater the arsenal of abilities he could unleash.
Determination surged within Ashlock, and he no longer held back. The air crackled as spatial Qi surged forward under his command. His Star Core pulsed and glowed within his trunk as he cast aside the need for portals, hurling raw spatial Qi in the form of blades at the advancing storm, carving slices into its tempestuous mass in hopes of striking something of importance.
Though the storm filled in the gaps faster than he could make them, Ashlock persisted, slashing relentlessly.
The Redclaw Grand Elder abandoned his slicing tactic and decided to join his hands together to unleash the most magnificent flamethrower Ashlock had ever witnessed. The roaring crimson flame burrowed deep into the Cloud Titan, finally diverting its attention from Ashlock.
Golden lightning crackled within the Cloud Titan's body, converging within its eyes as its gaze shifted down to glare at the Grand Elder.
Wasting no time, Ashlock created a portal directly behind the Grand Elder. The man expressed his gratitude as he leaped from his sword and plunged through the portal just in time to evade twin beams of lightning that obliterated his crimson blade and burrowed into the Redclaw mountainside. The intense beams left two smoldering holes tunneling into the rock for miles.
Ashlock then used a portal to move Larry from the central courtyard as well, and the two emerged from portals near the foot of the Cloud Titan simultaneously.
"Spirit beast," the Grand Elder addressed Larry in the ancient tongue, his hands clasped together, "We meet again."
Ashlock was surprised the Grand Elder was already competent in the ancient tongue, so he spoke some words through his mental tether with Larry, and the spider acknowledged his commands.
"To speak the ancient tongue so fluently, I am impressed, human," Larry responded to the venerable Grand Elder. Ashlock observed the spider shifting his focus to the looming tempest. "The immortal is preoccupied and can only provide a fraction of his true power. We must find a way to halt the storm before it lays waste to Darklight City."
The Grand Elder smiled weakly, "I only understood about a third of your words, great spirit beast. The immortal must be testing my resolve and my ability to protect his domain in his stead."
"No, old man," Ashlock sighed. "You've misunderstood completely, but whatever, it works."
Larry's crown of ash that encircled his head like a halo around his horns pulsed. A torrent of ash rushed into the base of the Cloud Titan, accompanied by a stream of superheated flame from the Grand Elder. The ash ignited within the inferno, glowing like fireflies as it pierced the Cloud Titan, inflicting substantial damage.
Unlike the Grand Elder's fire Qi which was quickly diminished due to the dense water Qi in the storm, the burning ash retained its heat much longer. Soon enough, the Cloud Titan bellowed in agony as its leg blazed with fire and steam.
How a storm even gained enough sentience to howl with pain was beyond Ashlock, but he knew it involved some Dao bullshit. Why it had come here and seemed to specifically target him was also a cause for concern. Was it attracted by Qi, like the Grand Elder had hinted at earlier, or had it come after something else?
Ashlock had to shove these concerns aside as he joined in on the assault by pumping more Qi into his roots and causing space to ripple with power. The storm fragmented as if restrained by an invisible spiderweb.
Yet, despite their combined efforts, the storm proved too immense. The Cloud Titan continued its relentless advance, even as it was scorched by fire and ash or cleaved by warped space. How could one even hope to defeat this entity? Ashlock began to grasp the Redclaw Elder's sentiment that perhaps the entire Blood Lotus sect was doomed.
He continued repositioning the Grand Elder and Larry using portals, but the distance between the mountain range and the Cloud Titan rapidly dwindled. In mere minutes, it would reach Ashlock.
The crown of ash encircling Larry's horns grew sparse, reminiscent of the rings orbiting Saturn. The Grand Elder was drenched in sweat, and his crimson wings of flame had dwindled to a mere whisper of their former brilliance. Together, they stood with their backs to the mountain range, prepared to make a last stand, but it seemed futile.
Ashlock knew they couldn't hold out much longer, so before the Cloud Titan could crush them beneath its tempestuous winds, he transported them to the safety of the underground mine.
The Redclaw Elders hurried to support their Grand Elder, with one of them offering an arm to steady the exhausted man. Concern filled their faces, and the villagers huddled in the cavern's corner screamed as Larry crawled through the portal.
Ashlock didn't have the time or energy to waste on observing those sheltering below and returned his sights to the situation above ground. Little Kai seemed distraught as the purple grass swayed and Ashlock's leaves began to violently rustle.
"Go join Larry," Ashlock said to Little Kai, perhaps for the last time. Their shared journey may have been brief, but Ashlock had high hopes for the adorable little noodle. "He will take care of you... maybe."
Using telekinesis, Ashlock lifted the small black snake and dropped it through a tiny portal, which deposited Kaida onto Larry's furry back. The little snake nestled among the fur, likely finding it quite warm. Due to his minuscule size compared to Larry, the spider didn't seem to even notice Kai. Larry focused instead on observing the villagers, deriving some amusement from their distress.
While Ashlock busied himself with relocating his allies underground, the Cloud Titan's foot had made contact with the base of the mountain range. The many miles of rock separating them seemed futile as the Cloud Titan effortlessly surged up the mountainside.
Ashlock metaphorically gulped as the Cloud Titan's lightning eyes peered over the pavilion's walls. Ashlock opened his trunk like an accursed maw and revealed his {Demonic Eye} in a vain attempt to win the staring contest.
The Cloud Titan appeared entirely unfazed by his gaze. Instead, its eyes glowed with power, and Ashlock raised his {Lightning Qi Barrier} just in time as two beams of lightning slammed into him once more.
Charred splinters flew, and his leaves burned to a crisp, but the A-grade barrier held strong. Compared to the heavenly lightning he had endured during his ascension to the Star Core realm, the Cloud Titans' lightning could not obliterate his defenses.
Yet again, his refusal to succumb to the lightning infuriated the Cloud Titan.
"Why are you even targeting me, you bastard?!" Ashlock shouted in rage. It didn't make any sense to him; a city of people lay behind him, but the Cloud Titan seemed hellbent on his destruction.
"Do you just hate trees? Are you treeist?" Ashlock accused the Dao Storm, and whether it heard him or not was hard to tell. It seemed to be in a constant state of anger. The sky darkened even further as a column of storm resembling a fist rose up over the pavilion walls and loomed over Ashlock's branches.
Naturally, Ashlock did everything in his power to fight back. Vines surged up from the ground as he cast {Devour} with as much Qi as his dwindling Star Core could muster. The spatial-coated vines rose like tendrils to meet the Titan's fury.
He also attacked the column of storm with spatial bombs. The air shuddered as explosions echoed, and vacuums formed from the collapsing portals. He poured everything into the attacks, but the arm that appeared determined to crush him continued to descend, fueled by the immense storm system behind it.
"Maybe if I had an entire sect of Star Core disciples, I could fend off this monstrosity, but alone? I am just one tree!" Ashlock screamed. His thorn-coated vines passed harmlessly through the arm, but Ashlock wasn't finished.
He also sent up his roots once the storm got close enough and cast {Root Puppet} in a futile attempt to take control of the Cloud Titan... the chaotic winds severed the thin hair roots that fanned out from the root tips instantly.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!" Ashlock couldn't believe it. Was this truly the end of his life here on this planet? A tree with infinite potential, fated to die at the hands of a wandering Dao Storm? Yet, Ashlock still clung to the hope that he could regrow from scratch as long as his roots entrenched in the mountain survived.
But all his progress! His cultivation! What about the divine fragment Senior Lee had gifted him? Would the Dao Storm rip it from his charred and split stump?
His Star Core was at its limit, trying to keep this lowering fist of storm from crushing him. Just the atmospheric pressure alone made his branches quiver.
"Of course," Ashlock muttered in defeat as the Dao Storm brought up a second arm that descended from the opposite side of the first. He had nothing left to ward it off. He almost felt like closing his eyes and saying a final prayer, but the void rippled.
The Cloud Titan seemed to hesitate briefly as Maple stepped out of another dimension and appeared on his roots.
"Maple!" Ashlock shouted, "Where have you been? Help me!"
The Cloud Titan's eyes burned like two suns going supernova, and the entire central courtyard was bathed in ferocious lightning. Ashlock felt his bark cracking from the force as his {Lightning Qi Barrier} once again took the brunt of the attack. His spiritual sight was overwhelmed with lightning Qi, so he had no way to see if Maple managed to survive.
A sudden roar echoed through the air, not of a beast but of a howling wind. Blinking away his temporary blindness, Ashlock saw that the Cloud Titan had been cleaved in two as if a massive claw had sliced right through it.
Maple stood defiantly on the tip of his branch, his tiny claw still raised. He was panting, and as a minute passed, he became seemingly fatigued and struggled to stand.
Whatever devastating attack the small squirrel had unleashed, it had drained him of all his strength. In response, Ashlock opened a portal, using the last remnants of Qi in his Star Core to deposit Maple's limp body beside Little Kai on Larry's back.
"Rest well, buddy," Ashlock said as he returned to the central courtyard and was surprised to feel the warmth from the sun on his bark.
Through the demolished pavilion wall, Ashlock saw a wonderful scene. Between the mile-wide gap in the chaotic storm caused by Maple's attack, Ashlock saw rolling green hills bathed in the golden light of a beautiful sunset.
It may have been a brief moment, as the cloud titan soon knit itself back together, but for a second, Ashlock knew peace. With his allies sparse and his body barely holding up, Ashlock stood tall... about as tall as any tree could in the face of its uprooting.
The Cloud Titan wasted no time in resuming its attack. It didn't bother to raise its arms, instead surging directly into the courtyard and engulfing the entire mountain in its chaotic vortex.
Ashlock screamed in his soul as his entire body cracked under immense force. His burned leaves were the first to be ripped from him, and then his weaker branches snapped in two, flying away into the storm. He couldn't even see anything as the torrent sped around him. Is this what death felt like?
But then Ashlock noticed dashes of liquid darker than night mixed with the vortex around him. Due to the situation, it took him a second, but as the liquid flew out of his split branches and spread throughout the storm, he was sure of it.
A hint of hope remained, and it lay in the cursed blood of a demonic tree.
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