Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Ashlock felt a foreboding breeze rustle his leaves as Maple was awoken from his slumber and stared down at Vincent.

He hadn't wanted it to come to this, but he'd been left with no choice but to manipulate Maple into helping him. When he had summoned the Worldwalker confined to the body of a mere squirrel many moons ago, his cultivation had been far too pathetic to have control over such a being. But Maple had offered a pact, one of peaceful coexistence. Discover more novels at NoveIꜰire.net

They wouldn't interfere in each other's business, and when the time came, they were supposed to protect one another.

While mutually beneficial on the surface, it actually heavily favored Ashlock because of a simple fact: Maple wasn't allowed to be here. It was only due to this pact that the Worldwalker could treat the realm as his personal buffet. However, if Ashlock or Stella were to die, the pact would be invalidated, and his system would banish Maple back into the void—and Maple knew this all too well.

The squirrel liked Stella and tolerated Ashlock, but at the end of the day, he was a Worldwalker with his own agenda. While Maple was considered a child by Worldwalker standards, he was an eldritch being who was far above Ashlock's prowess. So, unlike Larry and maybe Nyxalia in the future, Maple was not easily controlled or ordered around. He was incredibly lazy and preferred to conserve his cultivation rather than help them eliminate their foes. But Ashlock needed help from a heavy hitter to finally butcher Vincent Nightrose. He had already tried almost every trump card he had, and Vincent had highlighted a significant weakness in Ashlock's arsenal against stronger foes—the ability to fight against insane regeneration.

While his Abyssal Devourer skill had recently gained a corrosive aura that allowed him to sap Qi and life force from those wrapped up in his vines and void tendrils, it wasn't good enough if the person in question had as much regeneration as a blood cultivator like Vincent. Especially since that skill required the enemy to stay still near his trunk or offspring, which was unlikely to happen when the foe had a higher cultivation level than him. Also, Vincent's regeneration countered his desolation Qi, which was supposed to destroy matter at a high cost. Even Abyssal Whispers did little as Vincent had illusion Qi and had managed to split his soul, so his consciousness was far more resistant to any mind-altering effects.

Vincent had also flattened Ashlock's Bastions as if they had been toys. His Ents had no hope of fighting the 8th stage Nascent Soul cultivator except maybe Anubis, but he wanted to preserve them for the beast tide, especially after what had happened to Hades.

This led to the current situation. Ashlock had taken a risk and let Vincent inflict a large, painful cut in his trunk that was oozing cursed sap and Qi, which forced Maple to finally awaken from his long slumber and honor the pact they had made.

Vincent, in Valandor's body, was utterly frozen in fear, as if his soul was held in Maple's gaze. The mythical white squirrel let out a small snort before hopping off Stella's head, causing Vincent to step back slowly. The cultivator's eyes narrowed as he studied the small white squirrel. Clearing his throat, Vincent spoke cautiously, "Ancient being, I don't believe there is any malice between us."