Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Chapter 17: Eye in the Sky

With the beginning of a new day, Ashlockʼs mind had somewhat calmed, and he could rethink his situation. He had been under the false pretense that he was safe in this courtyard. Nobody worked here, and apart from the Grand Elder visiting, there was only Stella here, and he had no issue with her taking his fruit whenever she wanted.

He had been naive, the equivalent of someone walking around a bad neighborhood flaunting excessive jewelry and then getting mad over being robbed as if it was a surprising turn of events. Truly foolish.

The Grand Elder had mentioned ages ago how valuable his fruit was, and he had stupidly grown so much fruit that his branches were practically drooping from the weight... Yet he got angry when a demonic cultivator passed by and robbed him blind?

Ashlock should be grateful he wasnʼt chopped down for firewood. At least the fruit can be regrown... but should it be?

”I have enough Qi in my body from devouring that Soul Fire cultivator to regrow at least half those fruit within a month, but for what? Stella?”

Stella had been using the fruit as food and a cultivation aid since she didnʼt have a chef and couldnʼt afford to buy many cultivation pills... Which reminded Ashlock of the pills he had obtained for a few credits that he lost to that woman.

The pills were a minor setback compared to the fruit, which had been on display and could be regrown. At the time, Ashlock had no idea the demonic cultivators were so ruthless to each other. Although the deployment of the pills at the male cultivatorʼs feet had led to the woman chopping him down without further question, it was still regrettable to lose the pills that might have aided Stella.

”Okay, from now on, I will keep a low profile until I can protect myself. No more flaunting fruit or giving away freebies to invaders!” Ashlock shouted his declaration to an empty courtyard. Only the chirps of birds and the summer breeze accompanied him.

Ashlock debated sleeping until Stella came back, but the intense sun on his scarlet leaves filled him with energy, so feeling productive, he activated his God Eye skill and looked around.

Reaching a new stage of his cultivation realm naturally led to a significant increase in his view range. ”I can now see the entirety of the neighboring peak,” Ashlock remembered the experience of the Grand Elder staring straight at him, so he kept some distance. Luckily, he didnʼt have to investigate too hard to figure out who this peak belonged to because a very helpful engraved brass plaque over the pavilionʼs grand entrance read: House Ravenborne.

As Ashlock watched the entrance, the door slammed open, and a woman he recognized all too well strolled out—however, this time, she wasnʼt wearing her ninja outfit or a mask. Instead, her short black hair slightly obscured her grey eyes, almost brimming with tears. He hadnʼt noticed earlier, but her freckles suited her.

”Diana Ravenborne, what did your father tell you?” A woman with similar but more mature features, likely the womanʼs mother, appeared behind the woman named Diana and grabbed her wrist. ”Do you think you can ignore me—you unfilial child!?”

Diana frowned at her gripped wrist. ”Iʼm leaving Mother. The Grand Elder gave me a task.” Diana looked away, refusing to meet her motherʼs intense glare, ”It will likely be my last.”

”Leaving where? Last task?” The motherʼs voice was shrill and hard to listen to. ”Come back inside, and letʼs discuss this...” Her voice then dropped to a whisper, ”If something happens to you, the other concubines will gain ground on me. Understand? Your father has refused my advances recently, and I fear I am on my way out of his chambers. After your brotherʼs death, you became the next heir by default, but your talents donʼt match up to your brothers or cousins, so I fear the Grand Elder may try to dispose of you—”

Blue flames exploded around Dianaʼs wrist, making the mother reel back in pain. ”I am leaving Mother. I have no wish to be your political pawn anymore. Goodbye.” Diana forcefully pulled her wrist to her side, adjusted the wrinkles in her white shirt, and pushed her hair behind her ear to keep it from falling in her face as she descended from her familyʼs peak. Despite her motherʼs cries for her to return, Diana remained undeterred and even smirked as she watched her mother being dragged back inside by a group of maids, kicking and screaming.

Ashlock marveled at the sight of Ravenborne peak, which, although not as tall as Red Vine peak, still stood several thousand meters tall with clouds drifting lazily by. Yet, despite its impressive height, like a human comet of blue flames, Diana shot down its side with unfathomable speed—taking a hundred steps at a time, never breaking her stride.

”I want legs...” Ashlock grumbled. ”Whatʼs the point of being reborn in a world with superpowers if Iʼm stuck in place like this.”

Finally, in a surge of dirt, Diana arrived at the mountainʼs base with a grunt. She patted herself down and confirmed the few items connected to the loops in her jeans were secure. Then with one last look over her shoulder at her home, Diana sighed and strode down the paved road.

Due to his increased view range, Ashlock could continue following Diana.

After half an hour of walking, which wasnʼt far, considering how leisurely she was strolling with her hands clasped behind her head and whistling the whole time. As Diana crested a ridge, the edge of a town came into view.

”Wait... a town?” Ashlock was almost on the edge of his nonexistent seat in excitement. Deciding to allow Diana to take him on an unknowing tour, Ashlockʼs view remained far up in the sky, looking on from above. ”If only my skill let me see through walls...” Ashlock didnʼt know why but his skill had two restrictions. First, he always had a semi-birdʼs eye view—he couldnʼt go too close to the ground. The other was the inability to go inside buildings. ”Maybe if I get an x-ray skill, I could see through the walls? Or do I need to upgrade {Eye of the Tree God} into an S-grade skill through a lucky sign-in draw?

Ashlock removed the useless thoughts as he focused on the town. The snake-like roads paved with grey stone were flanked by multistory wooden buildings with slanted slated roofs. These buildings followed a similar architecture to the pavilion Ashlockʼs body was stuck in with their classical Chinese style.

Diana strode with the confidence of an empress down the crowded street—people of all ages who were relishing the warm summer weather moved to the side to let her pass. Most of them were dressed in subdued shades of brown or black, a reflection of the traditional style of the buildings that lined the street. In contrast, Dianaʼs clothing stood out, with its modern design that now caught Ashlockʼs attention for its unusualness. He had mistakenly assumed that her outfit was normal because it was a popular style back on Earth and hadnʼt noticed its distinctiveness in this unfamiliar setting.

”Hmm, even Stella wore a more traditional cloak. So why does Diana dress like that?” Whatever its purpose, it was evident by how people scurried to the side to avoid her path that she had a reputation. Likely a bad or tyrannical one. ”Or is it her familyʼs reputation...” Ashlock looked a little closer and noticed that Diana was the only one giving off a fair amount of Qi. ”Is she the only cultivator here?”

Ashlock thought back to the stories he read back on Earth and realized cultivators were usually rare. Most people had mortal bodies not fit for cultivation or simply never had the resources or guidance to pursue the path of immortality.

Diana stopped in front of a store. A round man with a comical mustache approached Diana and gave a respectful bow which seemed to wind him. ”Esteemed Cultivator, welcome to my humble store. We do not take payment in spirit stones...”

”Dragon Crowns fine?” Diana crossed her arms and glared at the man.

”Y-you must be joking... my monthly earnings arenʼt even a single Dragon Crown, how could I possibly...” The man bowed again as he saw Diana raise a brow, ”Ah! I forgot that we recently started accepting spirit stones.”

Diana smirked and walked past the man who was almost twice her size in both height and width but looked like a scared cat as she passed. Ashlock couldnʼt follow Diana inside, so he surveyed the rest of the town while he waited for her to leave.

Unfortunately, his view range only allowed him to see a section of the town closest to his peak. ”When I reach the next realm, I should be able to see many times further... right?” While Ashlock was soaring above the town with his skill, he spotted a marketplace.

It was a large square with a river flowing through the middle—brick arch bridges crossed a fast-flowing river every twenty meters. Ox-driven carts crossed the bridges to transport items from the market vendors to stores down the road. It seemed this was the hub for trade in the town.

Listening to some conversations, Ashlock learned more about the peopleʼs simple lives here. One elderly farmer complained to younger women selling seeds about how bad the harvests had been this year and asked if he could have a discount.

”Please, Florence. You always cut me a good deal, right? Look at my old bones. This will likely be my last season tending to the rice paddies.” The man leaned on the cart, and the young woman standing behind frowned.

”Mr. Richards, please keep your hands off my merchandise. There will be no discounts. I have a sick brother at home and can barely afford medicine.” The woman then crossed her arms in annoyance. ”Itʼs Beast Tide season—the merchants from the Celestial Empire havenʼt come around these parts in months.”

”Beast tides.” The old man spat to the side. ”Those good-for-nothing cultivators can deal with them while we flee. In my long life, this is the third time Iʼve had to move to survive those darn beasts.”

”Mr. Richardʼs donʼt disrespect the cultivators—” The woman never finished her sentence as a figure came hurtling from the sky and obliterated her, like squashing an insect.

A man shrouded in green flames frowned at where he landed.

”Oops, I misjudged my landing,” the man nervously chuckled as he shook his foot, trying to rid it of the sticky blood and bits of flesh that had once been the young woman. He then noticed the half-destroyed seed cart and asked, ”Is this cart yours?”

The old man absentmindedly nodded, too shocked to form words.

The green flame cultivator walked over to the old man and patted him on the shoulder, placing a few spirit stones in his open hand. ”Iʼm sorry for your loss,” the cultivator said before turning and heading down the street. Ashlock noticed that the street led to the store where Diana was currently located.

The old man blinked at the spirit stones in his hand and then at the half-destroyed cart overflowing with seeds. ”T-Thank you, sir cultivator, for your generosity!” The man bowed, and the cultivator waved him off without looking back.

The old man then pocketed the spirit stones with a sly smile, walked over to the cart, grabbed a bag, filled it with as many seeds as he could carry, and then with a grin, he set off toward his field, leaving the womenʼs smashed corpse for the birds.