Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Chapter 397: Procreation

”What did you do, Morrigan?!” Vincent snarled as he glared at the grinning woman. This was the worst outcome. He ideally needed a person alive so he could drain the required blood from them for the bloodline absorption ritual to work. While this arm did have some of Stella Crestfallenʼs blood, it was already too stale, and even if he drained every last drop from the arm, it wouldnʼt be enough to fill more than a cup, let alone a coffin.

Morrigan had clearly betrayed him, and he had been baited to an area with immense suppression by this cheap trick. If they were to fight here, he was likely to lose.

”You ask what I did? This was nothing but karma. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” Morrigan waved her stump. ”An arm for an arm. I got my revenge on that Princess brat.”

”Youʼve betrayed me!” Vincent slammed his fist down on the table, shattering it in two.

”How could you say that?” Morrigan said, unfazed by the destroyed table between them, ”Even after I showed my loyalty many times and got you this snack...”

”Snack? This is useless to me!” Vincent ripped the arm off the hook and pointed it accusingly at Morrigan. ”Since when did you switch sides?”

She looked at him with amusement, ”Switch sides? Honey, I was never on your side to begin with.”

”But you banished your pride and licked my foot to show your servitude.”

”Oh, you poor child,” Morrigan shook her head, ”That little joke was enough to win you over? Iʼve engaged in far more deplorable acts for far less over the years.” She stood up and laughed, ”Pride is an excessive love of oneʼs own excellence, usually fed by the reactions of others. Do you know what that means?”

”What?” Vincent snapped back. His patience was long gone.

Morrigan smiled at him. ”You become easy to control. Those consumed by pride are the most predictable, jealous, and impulsive individuals. The greatest threat to a cultivator is not the sword of an enemy but the blindness caused by their own arrogance.”

Vincent scowled, ”Overwhelming strength will always win.”

Morrigan stepped over the broken table and stood before him. She craned her neck to look up at him and whispered, ”Then how did you lose to a weakling like me?”

”Lose?” Vincent snorted and grasped his hand around her neck. ”Your betrayal is a setback, but what have I lost?”

”I knew you were after Stella Crestfallenʼs bloodline from the start, and I also know that you need the entire body alive to extract the bloodline.” Morrigan raised a finger wreathed in void Qi and slowly ran it down his cheek. The chilling coldness of the void devoured his flesh, leaving a crevice he couldnʼt heal. ”I killed Stella Crestfallen earlier today. I tore her limb from limb and buried her corpse on Red Vine Peak. A place you cannot reach.”

Vincent frowned deeply and searched her face in hope. Surely, she had to be joking, right?

”Ah yes,” Morrigan trembled in ecstasy, ”Thatʼs the look Iʼve been dying to see on your face. While I do hate the Ashfallen Sect...” Her voice dropped to a harsh whisper, ”I despise you even more. You dragged my family members off to bathe in their blood. You took my sons and daughters from me. So Iʼve been waiting for a long time to kill you.”

Her hand traced down his neck to his chest, and her hand paused above his beating spiritual heart. ”You denied my children a future, so Iʼve done the same to you. The Crestfallen bloodline will never fall into your hands as it dries up in the rock of Red Vine Peak. Gone for eternity.”

”What about your daughter? I thought you wanted to save her from her fate in the Ashfallen Sect.”

”I have to save her from you first.”

Vincent licked his lips, ”Her bloodline has ripened then. Interesting.”

”A taste you will never get to enjoy.” Morrigan thrust her void-wreathed hand into his chest.

”Now, now,” Vincent tutted as he firmly held Morriganʼs wrist in place with a layer of constantly replenishing blood Qi to guard his hand against the void. Her fingers were a mere inch from his beating spiritual heart—the source of his power. ”Killing me in such a way seems rather one-sided, does it not? Should we not step over into hell together?”

”You canʼt beat me,” Morrigan sneered.

”Oh, I know,” Vincent agreed, ”You seem unfazed by the suppression of this place, meaning you are a void cultivator at the peak of the Star Core Realm. I may struggle to defeat you even at my best. Hence, I must apologize in advance for what Iʼm about to do.”

”You wouldnʼt...” Morrigan tried to squirm but was unable to escape his grip around her neck and wrist as his blood Qi invaded her body and anchored her in place.

”Void cultivators are cursed to remain in the Star Core Realm, meaning you canʼt have an infant soul.” Vincentʼs eyes glinted with amusement as he loosened his control over his Star Core. A sudden surge of energy erupted, and the core began its cataclysmic transformation into a supernova. Gravity Qi bore down on them both, forcing them to the ground. Blood poured out of his body in every way imaginable, staining his pristine white cloak a deep crimson.

”How dare you go supernova, you cowardly bastard!” Morrigan screamed as she tried to claw at him. ”Fight me for real!”

”I canʼt do that.”

Morrigan knew too much about him and his plans. It was better to go supernova here to eliminate a dangerous void cultivator than to be captured by the Ashfallen Sect or leave any evidence of his assumed appearance as Valandor.

After all, he needed to set foot on Red Vine Peak by the end of the day. If what Morrigan said was true, and Stellaʼs body parts were scattered across Red Vine Peak, he didnʼt have a moment to waste.

”I hope you reflect on betraying me as your soul rots in hell,” Vincent sneered as he choked Morrigan out. She tried to attack him with spikes of void, but it was pointless. Most were blocked by the blood Qi gushing out of his body, and the few that managed to pierce him had little hope of stopping the process.

His world went white as his Star Core reached a threshold. The internal strength of his soul was incapable of holding in the Qi, causing his soul to rapidly collapse before exploding outward. All he heard as his soul exploded was Morriganʼs final scream.

This narrative has been purloined without the authorʼs approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

***

”Ugh,” Vincent groaned as he reached through the darkness and pushed up. The stone lid of his coffin slid to the side, and he sat up. Looking around with the main body he had stolen from Valandor, he confirmed he was in the hideout he had constructed in the center of Darklight City below the Flamehunt familyʼs estate.

The memories of what had happened in Tartarus were fuzzy at best, as he had lost a fraction of his soul. However, due to his spiritual heartbeats between every body he controlled being in perfect sync, he was able to transfer some knowledge before he went supernova. Because of this, there were a few things he knew for sure. One, Morrigan had betrayed him, and secondly, she had lied. Stella was alive.

”If the rumors are true, the ruler of the Ashfallen Sect often dotes on his daughter. Her death would be known to him in an instant, and a leader with that level of power wouldnʼt sit around if someone killed their kin.”

He expanded his spiritual sight across the land and couldnʼt feel any Qi fluctuations of bloodlust from Red Vine Peak.

”If Morrigan had truly killed Stella Crestfallen, Red Vine Peak would be ablaze with Qi. Which can only mean that Morrigan and Stella Crestfallen are working together. A limb can be healed, so just because her arm was hanging there doesnʼt mean she was torn limb from limb.”

Perhaps more importantly, if Stella had died, he would have experienced the Ashfallen Sect leaderʼs bloodlust while examining the threads of fate. Yet no matter what thread of fate he followed, it was Stellaʼs bloodlust that followed him.

According to his recent usage of the Starweaver bloodline, the threads of fate seemed convinced that Stella would kill him in all possible futures. Therefore, she couldnʼt have died in such a way. It was quite concerning that during his first usage of the bloodline, he had been shown one possible future

Vincent drummed his fingers on the coffinʼs side as he tried to figure out their goal. ”If they were trying to bait me somewhere again, they would have suggested a place I can actually go. She knows I fear the void lightning array surrounding Red Vine Peak, and without Morrigan, I have no way to disable it...”

His eyes widened, ”They are trying to get me to give up. Faking Stellaʼs death, saying her bloodline has been lost and buried in an unreachable graveyard. Having lost my last good clone, it would be a good time to give up.”

Vincent rose and stepped out of the blood coffin as blood dripped off him. There was no way he would return to sitting in a dark cave and pointlessly cultivating for the next eon when his quick path to power was right before him. The knowledge of the Crestfallen ancestors would not only allow him to reach the Monarch Realm, but he could climb even higher and faster than any cultivator. Access to that knowledge was wasted on a girl like Stella.

Only the heavens would become his limit.

”I know you are hiding Stella.” Vincent licked his lips, ”The night of reckoning will reveal you in due time.”

***

Stella impatiently waited outside the wooden hut on the 20th step of Tartarus.

”Relax, Morrigan is handling it.” Diana reassured her and smiled, ”Please stop tapping your foot—itʼs annoying.”

Stella paused her foot, ”Sorry. I usually cross my arms when Iʼm nervous, but you know...” she waved her stump.

They werenʼt the only two here. Maple was asleep on her head, and Grand Elder Redclaw was quietly standing at Dianaʼs side with his sword drawn. Elaine was also here as she had been nervous about her mother after hearing their plan and Sol behind them, illuminating the area.

Stella felt Maple shift on her head. The squirrel that had been in slumber for what felt like forever perked up and stared at the hutʼs doorway. His golden eyes narrowed, and his ears twitched.

”Did something happen?” Stella asked as she reached up to pat the squirrel. The hut was actually empty and simply served as a facade for a shadow rift that led out of Tartarus and to the void. Morrigan had been the one to set it up by linking it to the hole in the void tree in Slymere.

”Someone went supernova,” Maple said.

”What? Who?” Elaine panicked. ”Was it my mother?”

Before Maple could respond, the door to the hut swung open.

Everyone paused and watched the doorway that led to nothing but darkness with bated breaths.

A moment later, an unfazed Morrigan strode out. Her hair was the same light pink color as Elaineʼs but quickly transitioned back to black as if reacting to the air.

”Did you kill Vincent?” Stella asked the question on everyoneʼs mind.

Morrigan shook her head, ”It was just a blood clone with a fragment of his soul.”

Stella let out a breath she didnʼt know she was holding, and a weird mix of emotions overcame her. She was frustrated that Vincent was still out there somewhere, but on the other hand, she was weirdly relieved that she still had the opportunity to kill him herself.

”Did he go supernova?”

Morrigan raised a brow, ”How did you know...” She glanced up at Maple, who was staring at her, ”Oh, yeah. He did.”

”And youʼre fine?” Elaine asked as she apprehensively walked toward her mother.

Morrigan smiled at her daughter, ”Of course, darling. If it was the real one, I would have been in trouble, but this one was easy enough to deal with.”

Stella somehow doubted that.

As Elaine and Morrigan embraced each other in a hug, Stella didnʼt miss Morrigan licking her blood-stained lips. While she was nonchalant about it, she had dealt with a blood clone carrying the fragment of a high-stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. That wasnʼt something a cultivator of Morriganʼs level could survive going supernova. Yet she had forced someone of Vincentʼs caliber and pride to take the cowardly way out? Just what had happened in there?

”While I survived, I believe Vincent thinks Iʼm dead.” Morrigan winked at Stella, ”I also told him I killed you and buried your body on Red Vine Peak.”

Stella nodded, ”Good.”

”Also, I believe this is yours.” Morriganʼs spatial ring flashed with silver, and she threw a human arm at her.

Stella caught it with telekinesis and floated it to her stump. ”Sol, come and help me.” The Ent obeyed her command and lumbered over. One of its many arms reached into the floating ball of light and withdrew a healing wisp. Pressing it against the stump, the area glowed with power, and muscle strands wiggled out to construct a new arm. Stella mentally focused the strands to encounter the floating arm Morrigan had ripped off this morning, and they burrowed into it. After a painful few minutes, she flexed her fingers in her reattached arm. It felt unnaturally stiff and cold, but that feeling would soon fade.

”An arm for an arm,” Stella grinned and withdrew Morriganʼs arm, which she had cut off a few days ago and had been holding onto since.

”That was the deal,” Morrigan laughed as she caught her arm and casually reattached it without Solʼs help. She flexed her fingers, and despite being apart from her arm far longer than Stella had, it didnʼt seem to be stiff or unnatural.

Is she even human? Stella could only wonder.

”Now, what do we do?” Grand Elder Redclaw asked

”We wait,” Stella replied. ”Itʼs Vincentʼs turn now. Either he takes the bait and tries to retrieve my body from Red Vine Peak, or he cuts his losses and leaves this place.”

Grand Elder Redclaw crossed his arms and frowned, ”We are just going to let Vincent go?”

”Donʼt worry. I highly doubt he will be fleeing anytime soon. While he has been setback by losing a blood clone, he has deep ties to a group in Darklight City that opposes the All-Seeing Eye,” Stella explained, ”Heʼs spreading these blood pills to mortals, and I even witnessed a faceless blood clone of his. While I havenʼt figured out Vincentʼs motive yet, someone like him wouldnʼt expend his blood Qi and time working with mortals for no reason.”

”So that crafty bastard isnʼt out of trump cards yet,” Grand Elder Redclaw stroked his chin, ”It was never going to be easy to take that man down. Heʼs ruled over the wilderness for a long time, and for good reason.”

”But we are so close,” Stella clenched her fists. ”We have something heʼs willing to die trying to get his hands on. He may be a careful and calculating person, but everyone starts to make mistakes when they feel cornered. We just need to keep up the pressure. Iʼm going to investigate the Eyepatch group further and see if I can unveil his plan.”

Diana tapped Stella on the shoulder, ”If you donʼt mind me asking, how did you find this group? I assist in managing Darklight City alongside the council, and I never received any reports about them.”

Stella shrugged, ”I went into town seeking a new hobby. Oh, that reminds me, I meant to ask you about something.”

Diana tilted her head, ”Mhm?”

Stella brought out the two binders she had stolen from the brothel and handed them to Diana. ”I went to an establishment called a brothel and was given these. I want to ask you about the appeal of the activities that take place there—”

”Letʼs talk about this somewhere else, okay? How about your house?” Diana grabbed her hand and began dragging her down Tartarusʼs stairs. She could hear some laughter behind her from Morrigan and Elaine.

Whatʼs so funny about it? Stella frowned.

”Should I get Ashlock to help with this?” Diana muttered under her breath, ”Mhm, maybe thatʼs a bad idea. What would a spirit tree know about human procreation?”