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Chapter 342: Aether Qi

"I can unleash the combined anguish of everything I\'ve eaten? How many is that now?" Ashlock started counting every meal he remembered and soon gave up. There were far too many, and there were undoubtedly many souls that hadn\'t been very willing to die. "I bet I harvested a lot of anguish from the Voidmind librarian as I slowly tortured him inside my soul... oh, and that Evergreen brat that damaged my soul during my Star Core ascension."

Ashlock looked around some more and realized he could see the flow of Qi far more clearly than before.

"System, what other changes has my eye undergone?"

[Your gaze now has true sight. You can see through any kind of barrier or illusion made by Qi. Your ability to perceive the flow of Qi in your surroundings and people has also increased significantly]

Ashlock realized he could see through the illusion barrier surrounding Red Vine Peak as if it weren\'t even there. It had never inhibited his sight as it was made from his Qi, but it would still distort the air a little.

"Truly an upgrade befitting the \'All-Seeing Eye.\' Now barriers or illusions can\'t block my sight," Ashlock paused, "But the Evil Eye part is a little concerning. This is a perfectly good attack skill, but it doesn\'t do my evil god image any good. It\'s been fine until now due to Stella\'s clever marketing idea with the welcome boxes, but if my public image turns too evil, it will be hard to recruit new members..."

Ashlock sighed. Such was the life of an up-and-coming deity. He had never anticipated that his ability to gather allies would depend on good public relations and marketing in a cultivator world, but life was full of surprises.

"It can\'t be that bad, surely," Ashlock thought as he switched to his spiritual senses and looked at himself.

What greeted him was a vast, towering tree at least a hundred meters high, supporting a canopy of blood-red leaves and intertwining branches like gnarled fingers reaching for the heavens. The subtly divine glow did little to take away from the ominous and dangerous aura surrounding him and the single building-sized eye peering at him through a thirty-meter-high slit in his trunk.

"Yeah, I\'m doomed," Ashlock gave up, "Path of an evil god it is."

Besides its immense size, the eye was indescribable. Ashlock looked deeply into it, trying to find the words. "It\'s like the suffering of a million souls was condensed into a blood-red orb of pure hatred and anguish." Ashlock felt deeply unsettled as the titanic eye pulsed faintly like a beating heart as he moved it around.

If his eye from before had carried an otherworldly fascination that stunned cultivators who looked at it, this upgraded Evil Eye carried bloodlust so dense that it made Ashlock scared of himself.

"I\'m afraid to upgrade my Blood Sap now," Ashlock half-joked.

[Directly upgrading the mutation {Blood Sap [C]} will consume 470 credits. Are you sure?]

"Do it..."

[470 credits consumed…]

[Upgraded {Blood Sap [C]} -> {Cursed Sap [B]}]

Ashlock felt something was terribly wrong. The malicious aura around him intensified tenfold, competing for dominance with the divine glow. A burning sensation, just like last time, began to spread, starting from his Inner World. Rivers of liquified darkness, blacker than tar, flowed from the Divine Flesh Tree. The fog of blood shrouding the flesh tree forest followed suit, turning into a sinister miasma. As the rivers flowed, the burning sensation spread through his vast body, which spanned the land.

Knowing what was coming, Ashlock activated {Mental Protection [B]}. He didn\'t want to be dragged off to experience another fleeting dream about a past life of the World Tree.

"Agh," Ashlock howled in his mind as the burning pain soon became intolerable. It felt like he was being forced to stand on lit coals with no way to jump off. Red Vine Peak cracked, and showers of rock were thrown up as he trashed around in desperation.

"System..." Ashlock gasped as he tried to distract himself with something. "What does my new Cursed Sap do?"

[Cursed Sap: Those that dare to drink your sap are cursed to turn into a tree and become your offspring. With this upgrade, the potency of the curse has increased, and you can track the location of anyone cursed by your sap. Furthermore, the effect of any curse will be significantly boosted against the target. None shall escape your reach]

The golden words were nothing but a blur as he barely managed to hold onto his fading consciousness. He adamantly refused to live out an eon of suffering in a dream as the World Tree.

Whether he had been the World Tree in a past life or had been shown these dreams to demonstrate an alternate path, he did not care. He was a demonic tree that achieved growth by devouring the flesh of others. There was no way he would willingly experience being taken advantage of again.

Through the pain as his sap evolved, Ashlock became fixated on the distant mountain, where he could see the earliest signs of the sun cresting the mountain peaks. The morning was almost here, signifying the end of the Mystic Realm and the return of the Ashfallen Sect to the world stage.

***

"I can\'t believe it," the cosmos\'s laughter boomed from overhead, "You really are a Crestfallen and, dare I say, deserving of the ancient bloodline."

The cosmos\'s praise went in one ear and out of the other as Stella held the fixed origin stone in her trembling hands.

Stella would have grinned or spouted some prideful nonsense such as \'of course I am\' to such words in the past. But right now? Her ego had been broken down and crushed. Repairing the origin stone had humbled her greatly in the face of her ancestors.

She\'d experienced a spiritual reawakening similar to when she first took in heaven\'s whispers as a child, expanding her worldview and understanding of reality. To repair an origin stone of a higher tier affinity to her own, a task deemed impossible, the cosmos rammed an immense amount of information into her skull.

As her body and mind broke down, so did her spirit and arrogance. Her ancestors inspired her to rise again from the remnants of her ego as a new person—a Crestfallen capable of the impossible.

The Crestfallen name hadn\'t held a high place in her heart before. If anything, she had held a hint of disdain for the name as she felt abandoned by her parents and looked down on by the cosmos the first time they met.

Yet now, she could only kneel in respect to her ancestors\' past achievements. She now wanted nothing more than to continue the legacy and pride of the name, and the first step was to complete what she had set out to do with their name on the line.

Repair the origin stone.

"It\'s done," Stella muttered through bloodstained teeth as she stared into the glowing white stone, letting off a subtle steam of aether Qi into the surroundings.

"That... you did," Elder Vortexian stuttered from the side with his back pressed against the far wall, "As expected of a Crestfallen."

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Stella grinned; something about being called a Crestfallen brought her joy and a sense of belonging. It was like a badge of honor that felt earned after the last week of mind-breaking suffering. Even the cosmos, who oversaw the records of her ancestor\'s exploits, recognized her now.

Her body was a bloodied mess, but she was able to stand there calmly due to the strange energy the cosmos had infused into her so she wouldn\'t show such a weak display in front of Elder Vortexian and sully her name. After all, a Crestfallen should show unwavering competence in all situations, not lying on the floor, coughing up blood, and passing out.

Elder Vortexian gulped, "As agreed, set the origin stone down on the podium, and I will allow you to meditate here as long as you wish to achieve comprehension of aether Qi."

Stella slowly placed the stone in a metal holder, like a bird\'s claw, with an audible click. Runic lines down the side of the podium began to glow a pale white, and the Qi in the room started to noticeably change.

"Well done, Stella. The pact with the ancestors is complete, and you have honored their legacy by doing the impossible."

The cosmos said in a far kinder tone than before, and his voice no longer violently shook her soul to its core. "Remember, we will assist from the shadows in anything you put your mind and full effort into. We are always here, watching over you and your progress."

Stella looked up and smiled as she quietly mouthed, "Thank you."

"Your mother will be proud of you in her own unique way." The cosmos grinned, with every tooth being its own blindingly bright star.

Stella\'s eyes widened as the grand celestial library carved inside a golden tree faded out of existence with its guardians\' mysterious parting words.

Will be? So, that confirms my mother is still alive, which lends more to the theory that she is the World Tree. Stella wanted answers. Her head slowly lowered from looking at the now bare stone ceiling, which felt incredibly heavy, and she locked eyes with Elder Vortexian.

"Before I start cultivating, I have a question for you." Stella smiled, seeing how uncomfortable a superior cultivator seemed under her gaze, "You said my family were tyrants. What did you mean by that?"

"Mistress Crestfallen, forgive my slip of words—"

"Just answer the question," Stella titled her head, "Truthfully."

"It\'s all rumors, Mistress. Nonsense sprouted between some dregs far below your status to be concerned with."

"You listened to these rumors, so it makes you one of these worthless dregs, does it not?" Stella crossed her arms, "If you know your place, then answer my question. What did you mean by calling my family tyrants? What do you know of the Crestfallen family."

Maple stirred from his slumber on Stella\'s head and eyed Elder Vortexian with one eye open. Being glared at by a Worldwalker seemed to be enough to convince Elder Vortexian to give up what he knew.

With his remaining arm, he crossed his chest and spoke to the floor while bowing. "The rumors are that whenever the World Tree is about to crest the peak and bridge the gap between the heavens and earth, it falls at the hands of someone bearing the Crestfallen name." Elder Vortexian straightened up with a solemn expression, "When the World Tree falls and the upper layers of creation become impossible to reach once more, those bearing the Crestfallen name seemingly vanish, only to reappear again an eon later to destroy the tree again. It\'s almost like an eternal cycle of rebirth and destruction..."

Stella bit her lip as she tried to process what this rumor was implying. She knew next to nothing about her family\'s origins, but if this was true, she was sure there was a good reason for it.

Elder Vortexian coughed into his hand, "Anyway, it\'s usually good practice to kill Crestfallens on sight just to be safe."

"Why?" Stella wanted to know the exact reason someone would have to kill her on sight. Because if she wanted to access the ultimate form of her bloodline, where she summoned the help of her ancestors, she had to reveal her identity as a Crestfallen.

"Because you are the enemy of all cultivators," Elder Vortexian bluntly replied, "We all want to increase our cultivation, but as you reach the pinnacle a layer of creation can support, advancing becomes nigh impossible for anyone except those with tremendous talent and resources. My cultivation has stagnated in the Monarch Realm, but if the World Tree was here, I could ascend to the 7th layer of creation and bask in their superior Qi. My ascension would be assured then!"

Stella tapped her chin, "But because of my tyrannical ancestors, you are stuck down here?"

Elder Vortexian nodded, "Yes."

"These rumors... how do you know of them? Are they common knowledge?"

Elder Vortexian thought for a moment, "Mhm, common knowledge? No. Especially on a lower layer, it would be nothing but a fairytale known by a few scholars. But I\'ve heard the higher you go, the stronger the hatred for your bloodline grows."

"I see," Stella hummed in thought for a moment. That makes sense, as there will be more long-lived people on the higher layers to remember my family\'s past exploits.

Stella\'s head was swimming with ideas, and she wanted to ask for more but refrained. All this man knew were rumors, and rumors were dangerous things. What if an enemy family trying to keep hers down had spun this web of lies so anyone who showed up with her bloodline was killed on the spot?

Elder Vortexian\'s eyes flickered to Maple, "It seems your Father is aware of this, and that is why he has a Worldwalker guarding you."

Stella glanced up at the fluffy blob lazing on her head and then back at Elder Vortexian, who had an empty cloak sleeve. Sometimes, I forget that Maple managed to eat the arm of a Monarch Realm cultivator before I could even react and is more than a lazy glutton

—as if reading her thoughts, Maple smacked her on the forehead with his paw.

"Ow." Stella rubbed the sore spot on her forehead and smeared blood. Oh yeah, I forgot my body was in such a sorry state. This had been a nice chat, but the end of the Mystic Realm was fast approaching, and she had yet to comprehend aether Qi and devise a plan to steal the origin stone for Ashlock.

Sitting down cross-legged next to the podium, she winced as every action felt like tearing a muscle or moving a broken bone. She needed Sol\'s healing as soon as possible but had unfortunately sent the Ent to look after her disciple.

"I will be cultivating now." Stella closed her eyes, "Don\'t try anything funny, Elder Vortexian."

Elder Vortexian also sat down and chuckled nervously. "Don\'t worry, Mistress, I wouldn\'t dare."

Stella did a rough estimate of how long she had and didn\'t like the answer. If I\'m correct, I should only have three days to comprehend aether Qi. Though it\'s nearly impossible to count the days and nights down here when I was so distracted by trying not to pass out, and there\'s no view of a sun and moon cycle in this enclosed room.

***

Elder Vortexian hadn\'t actually bothered meditating. Instead, he intently watched Stella and the Worldwalker through his spiritual sight. The repaired origin stone sat between them. Even in a damaged state, it was a clan treasure, and now that it was restored, it was his duty to protect it with his life.

After three short days, Elder Vortexian was surprised to see Stella awaken from her meditation. She opened her palm and casually summoned a flickering white flame in her palm.

How did she manage to attune her spirit roots to aether Qi in just three short days? How profound is her insight into the heavens\' whispers, and how pure are her spirit roots to pull off such a quick transformation? Elder Vortexian\'s eyes flickered to the origin stone. What a stupid thought. She managed to repair an aether origin stone. Of course, she would pick it up quickly.

Stella clenched her palm, dismissing the flame. Her attention briefly landed on him before switching to the origin stone.

I knew it. Stella would not leave such a valuable thing in my hands. It goes against the Crestfallen\'s nature of selfish destruction. Elder Vortexian\'s Inner World stirred as he prepared to unleash his domain. Stella wouldn\'t be ready to use aether Qi techniques, so he would use his law over spatial Qi to seal her escape and strike her down here and now.

Yet Stella didn\'t make a move. Hours passed, and she simply sat there, staring at the origin stone as if waiting for something to happen. The question was, what?

The answer came in a strange presence that appeared on the dawn of the fourth day. It encompassed the room, and a peculiar celestial fog appeared on the walls like morning dew. Whatever its purpose, it seemed to be the signal Stella had been waiting on as she stood up and brushed off her clothes. She tried to hide her intentions with pointless movements, but it was clear as day to Elder Vortexian. Her target was the origin stone.

As the strange fog expanded into the rest of the room, Stella suddenly reached out to grab the origin stone from the grasp of the metal claw on the podium. Elder Vortexian moved faster—his spatial domain expanded, freezing space like time had reached a standstill. He had absolute control over space in this purple hue world, which was a manifestation of his Inner World. Unlike last time, his goal wasn\'t to kill Stella. In an attempt to avoid angering the Worldwalker on her head, he went for the origin stone instead.

While Stella was frozen in space, he swiftly moved forward and swiped the origin stone before she could. Satisfied, he was about to teleport away and leave her down here with no interest in trying to kill her when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Death was coming.

He twisted his body just in time to face the threat and saw a mass of void tendrils moving unimpeded through his domain at immense speed. "Worldwalker! Why do you aid a Crestfallen!" Elder Vortexian cried out as he raised his hand, holding the origin stone in the hope it would deter the Worldwalker long enough for him to escape—it did not.

"No!" Elder Vortexian shouted in absolute horror as his arm, along with the origin stone and spatial rings, were devoured by the Worldwalker. Once again, his Spatial Anchor technique activated, bringing him back to the same room. Just this time, he was now missing both arms.

Shuffling across the room, he used his forehead to activate a glowing ball.

"Councilman!" Elder Vortexian said before the ghost that appeared even had a chance to speak, "It\'s the same girl from before with the pet Worldwalker. She appeared in the training realm we rented and slaughtered many of our up-and-coming talents before feeding the aether origin stone to her pet!"

"What?!" The councilman\'s ghost rippled with anger. "The origin stone is our clan\'s treasure. How could you allow this to happen?"

"I tried to stop her," Elder Vortexian gestured with his chin to his lack of arms. "But I failed."

The councilman was understandably livid at the news. "Did you get any more information about her, at least?"

Elder Vortexian nodded, "I did." He paused as the councilman showed surprise, "Her name is Stella Crestfallen."

The ghost fell silent for a long while before turning to speak to someone behind them. After a lengthy discussion, they turned back to address him. "Don\'t worry, we will deal with this. Matters concerning those tyrants have to be handled with care."

Elder Vortexian nodded, and the ghost faded, leaving him alone in the dark room.

"Stella Crestfallen..." Elder Vortexian wobbled as he stood. His life in the Azure Clan was now over. His reputation was dead. There was only the killing of one girl that could save him now.