Immortal Druid

This druid power was really cool. Phytokinesis was normally just a passive ability that boosted my nature-based spells back in the game. However, in this world, the ‘flavor text’ that described the ability had become far more literal. The ability to animate plant life felt incredibly fun and intuitive, like the forest itself was an extension of my will.

I gestured with my staff and a sturdy ladder made of thick, interwoven roots smoothly descended from the tree house entrance. “Xing Ning, can you prepare a fire down here while I fix things up inside?”

“Yes, Senior!” he answered positively, already moving toward the clearing with enthusiasm.

I climbed up the ladder into the tree house and began using phytokinesis again. With focused intent, I widened the interior space, coaxing the living wood to expand and reshape until the single room felt comfortably spacious. Thick branches wove together to form a pair of simple but sturdy beds, one for me and one for Xing Ning, complete with soft moss mattresses and leafy pillows. I didn’t know if I even needed to sleep anymore with this new body, but I was going to try it anyway. After I felt satisfied with the decorations with a few glowing flowers for gentle lighting and some vines for natural curtains, I tested one of the beds.

I flopped down and let out a long, contented sigh. “Ahhh… this feels so good.”

The living wood cradled my body perfectly, cool and supportive at the same time. A deep sense of peace washed over me. For the first time since arriving in this world, I truly relaxed. It was like sinking into the world’s coziest hammock while the gentle hum of nature surrounded me. I could get used to this.

After a few minutes of just lying there enjoying the moment, I stepped back down the root ladder. Xing Ning had already set up a neat circle of stones, gathered plenty of dry firewood, and arranged everything for a proper campfire. He reached toward the simple metal ring on his finger, channeled a bit of qi into it, and summoned a small piece of yellow paper into his palm.

“What’s that?” I asked, curious.

“It’s a fire talisman, Senior,” he answered patiently.

He threw the talisman into the center of the wood pile. It ignited with a bright flash and a controlled burst of flame, instantly lighting the firewood into a steady, crackling campfire. It was dusk by this point, the sky turning a beautiful shade of orange and purple above the treetops.

“Nice work,” I said. Then, pointing at the ring on his finger, I asked, “By the way, what’s with that ring? It seems pretty handy.”

Xing Ning smiled and explained without hesitation, “It is my storage ring, Senior. It can hold many items in a separate spatial pocket. Most cultivators above Qi Condensation have one.”

Cool. I made a mental note to figure out how to make or acquire something like that later.

“Are you hungry?” I asked him.

He nodded shyly. “A little, Senior.”

We still had a bit of daylight left, so we went deeper into the forest together. How hard could it be to find something to eat, right? With my connection to nature, dinner should be easy enough to handle.

Xing Ning suddenly tensed beside me and whispered, “Senior, I can sense movement ahead with my spiritual senses. Something relatively strong is hiding in the vegetation.”

That sounded like a cool power. I imagined all cultivators at his realm possessed this kind of sensing ability. I’d grill him more about this cultivation stuff later, but first, dinner.

I told him casually, “I’ll leave it to you then.”

Xing Ning shook his head quickly, looking a bit nervous. “I’m not confident, Senior. Whatever it is, it’s at least Qi Condensation like me, probably a few stages above. I can feel its qi is quite vigorous.”

Curious, I asked, “How many stages are there in Qi Condensation anyway?”

Xing Ning explained patiently while we crept forward through the underbrush. “There are a total of thirteen stages in Qi Condensation, Senior. If my reading is correct, this one feels like at least the ninth stage. Its qi is dense and aggressive.”

I led the way, staff held loosely in one hand. “How exactly do you use these spiritual senses?” I asked. “Can you teach me?”

Xing Ning nodded and instructed me step by step. “It’s like expanding your qi outward from your dantian in a gentle wave. Imagine your qi as an invisible mist spreading through the air and ground. Focus on feeling the living presences around you rather than seeing with your eyes.”

I expanded my mana from my being… or I guessed I should start calling it qi. I’m never going to get used to calling this energy qi. I always thought qi was honestly just mana, but in particle form instead of a wavelength. Yet there seemed to be more nuance to it here.

As I pushed my senses outward, I picked up a vaguely humanoid shape crouched low under the thick vegetation. Was it a monkey? I didn’t want to eat monkey.

Suddenly, a brown blur rushed straight at me with surprising speed, delivering a powerful kick. I held my stance firmly. The creature bounced off me harmlessly and landed gracefully a few paces in front of me, striking a dramatic fighting pose with its muscular arms raised.

I uttered in sheer shock, “What in the world is a kangaroo doing here?”

The kangaroo had a loud, masculine voice full of bravado and struck a stance that perfectly matched its impressively muscled biceps. “KANGA-WHAT!? YOU WEIRDO, THIS BEAST IS THE BEST! WATCH OUT FOR MEEE~! I’M GONNA BE THE STRONGEST-EST MARTIAL ARTIST IN THE REALMS!”

Okay, two things hit me at once. First, I definitely didn’t have any appetite for kangaroo meat. Second, I had almost forgotten about the Voice of the World ability that let me understand and speak to basically all manners of sentient life, regardless of any language barrier.

“You are a martial artist kangaroo?” I asked, still stunned. “Please tell me this is not Australia…”

The kangaroo continued bouncing on its powerful tail with boundless energy. “YO YO YO~! YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOW! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL, PRICK! IF I WIN, GIMME YOUR COOL STICK!”

Unaware of the full conversation going on between the kangaroo and me, Xing Ning spoke up excitedly from behind me. “Senior, I’ve never seen a creature like this before. It looks delicious. Look at those muscles!”

I was just speechless.

“…”

The kangaroo kept bouncing on its powerful tail, flexing its biceps with dramatic flair. “I am Roo, the unrivaled practitioner of the self-styled martial art, Way of the Bound Sky Strider! Now tell me your name, you weird silver-haired stick guy, so we can have a heart-pounding, blood-boiling duel that will shake the heavens!”

Xing Ning, who clearly couldn’t understand a word of the kangaroo’s loud declarations, asked worriedly, “Senior, is there a problem?”

I sighed and remarked, “I just lost my appetite for any kind of meat.”

And here I was looking forward to a nice campfire dinner. Nature really had a way of throwing curveballs.

I looked at the energetic kangaroo and said calmly, “Roo, I reject your challenge. Just go on your way, alright? I’m not in the mood for a fight.”

Roo’s eyes widened in outrage. “A REJECTION?! NO WAY, NO HOW! A TRUE MARTIAL ARTIST NEVER BACKS DOWN FROM A CHALLENGE~ YO!” He kicked off the ground with explosive force and rushed straight at me again, fists cocked back for another powerful strike.

With my overwhelming superior stats, I didn’t even need to use any spells or abilities. However, if I just smacked him around, I’d feel bad for the guy.

“Entanglement,” I uttered the spell gently.

Thick, flexible roots burst from the ground and wrapped around Roo’s legs, torso, and arms in a firm but harmless cocoon, lifting him slightly off the ground. He struggled wildly, but the roots held him in place without hurting him.

Roo immediately started cussing his heart out in the most colorful manner I had ever heard from any creature.

“YOU DAMN TREE-HUGGING CHEATER! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW OR I’LL TURN YOUR STUPID STICK INTO TOOTHPICKS! YOU CALL THIS A DUEL?! THIS IS BULLSHIT! I’LL KICK YOUR POINTY EARS INTO NEXT WEEK! RELEASE ME SO I CAN SHOW YOU THE TRUE POWER OF THE WAY OF THE BOUND SKY STRIDER, YOU COWARDLY WEIRDO! MY FISTS ARE ITCHING FOR JUSTICE!”

I stood there, arms crossed, watching the bound kangaroo thrash and swear while Xing Ning stared in complete confusion at the one-sided scene.

“And how do you know I’m even a tree-hugger?” I muttered.

This was not how I imagined my first night of camping in a xianxia world would go.

We left the kangaroo to struggle in the roots.

“Of course it was so obvious,” Roo shouted after me, still thrashing. “Because you smell of trees, you leafy weirdo!”

I glanced back and called out calmly. “The roots will weaken after some time, and then you can get out of them. Pick your battles more wisely next time, Roo.”

Xing Ning kept glancing over his shoulder as we walked deeper into the forest. After a few minutes, he finally asked. “Senior, why did you spare the beast? It attacked you first.”

I shrugged. “It would have left an unpleasant taste in my mouth.”

We foraged through the forest together. Wild berries, plump purple fruits, crisp apples growing on ancient-looking trees, and clusters of sweet nuts soon filled the makeshift basket I had woven from living vines. I should have felt proud of how easily phytokinesis turned the woods into a grocery store, yet I only felt disappointed with myself. I was already being forced to change my diet like this. Sure, plant life did not talk back, but somehow that made the feeling worse. It sounded like if animals no longer talked back, it would suddenly be fine to murder them. Ugh. What was happening to me?

Xing Ning suddenly stopped and tilted his head. “Senior, I sense a boar nearby.”

We turned around a thick cluster of ferns and found the boar staring straight at us, small eyes gleaming with aggression.

Xing Ning stepped forward, confidence rising in his voice. “I am confident I can take it, Senior. It does not even have any cultivation.”

I raised a hand. “Just leave it alone.”

The boar immediately puffed out its chest and snorted loudly. “WACHA LOOKING AT? YA WANT SOME OF ME TUSK, HUH? I AIN’T SCARED OF YOU!”

Why did I have this faint feeling that animals in this world shared a weird default-jerk theme? To be fair, the animals back in the game had also tended to be jerks.

Suddenly, a massive shadow dropped from the branches above. A bear slammed onto the boar with terrifying speed and began ripping it to pieces in a spray of blood and fur.

Xing Ning watched the scene with focused eyes. “The bear is only at the fourth stage of Qi Condensation. What should we do with it, Senior?”

I watched the bear warily look at us, snarling and ready to fight if we made a move as it secured its hunt.

“Let it be,” I told Xing Ning. “Let the circle of life do as it pleases.”

Maybe one day I would eat meat again, but right now I was not mentally ready. I turned and walked away. Xing Ning followed without another word.

Behind us, the bear’s voice suddenly shifted into the most unexpectedly feminine tone I had ever heard from any creature. “Come here, my sweet little cubs. Mama brought you fresh boar tonight. Eat up while it is still warm.”

While returning to camp, I spotted a patch of wild corn growing near a sunny clearing. Their golden ears peeked out from tall green stalks, looking surprisingly familiar. I walked over and began picking a few ripe ones.

Xing Ning watched me with open curiosity. “Senior, what are you doing?”

I held up an ear proudly. “It is corn. We can eat it.”

At the very minimum, it was the xianxia equivalent of corn. My Druidic Insight told me it should be fine to eat it.

Xing Ning expressed doubt, frowning at the thick husks. “That is rather tough and not very palatable, Senior. It is often considered a staple food for mortals and peasants alike.”

I shrugged and picked a few more anyway. We followed the warm glow of the campfire back to our treehouse clearing. I sat down on a huge rock beside the fire and began roasting my corn directly over the flames, turning the ears slowly with my hands.

Xing Ning still looked doubtful, but he tried roasting one as well. When the kernels were nicely charred to my satisfaction, I took a bite. It was tough and nowhere near sweet.

“Eh, close enough.”

I bit into more of it anyway.

I did not think I needed to eat anymore. That was how it worked back in the game, and the inherited memories of Nevle Drol Diurdhcra showed nothing about him ever eating food. Still, I needed this at least mentally. This was the outdoor camp life I had always dreamed of, right? I wondered if that was truly the case. I would have to test it over a few more days to know for sure.

I stared up at the night sky, the stars bright and countless above the treetops.

Xing Ning chewed slowly beside me, clearly bummed out by the plain corn. Then his face suddenly lit up as he realized something. “Wait, I have that thing with me.”

I stared in awe as he reached into his storage ring and literally pulled out a stick of butter.

“Can I have some?” I asked immediately.

He looked reluctant at first, clutching the butter protectively, but he eventually broke under the pressure of my hopeful gaze and broke off a generous piece for me.