Immortal Druid

The treehouse sure had grown over the couple of years. Now it was even more spacious inside, with winding branches forming extra rooms and vines draping like natural curtains. I relaxed on the comfy sofa Xing Ning had made recently, leaning back against the moss cushion I’d added myself. Who didn’t like a proper cushion, right? Definitely not me.

I flipped through a nature memoir. It was one of the rare finds that had made its way to the village. Next time I’d have to ask Xing Ning to hunt for more literature like this. This particular book was quite fun; it spoke about this very forest. Apparently, it didn’t even have a name. That seemed to be the convention for unexplored and unclaimed woods around here. I wondered how exactly one could “own” a forest. Did you need to apply for some kind of permit from a sect or an empire? It would be pretty cool if I got to name it myself, though. Something chill like “Verdant Nap Grove” or “Do Not Disturb Woods.”

Suddenly, my spiritual senses picked up Xing Ning approaching. He wasn’t alone. I’d been picking up more cultivator tricks lately, like proper spiritual senses. In the past I could only flood an area with my qi to get a rough feel, but now I could pick up finer details with real subtlety. Nice upgrade.

I grabbed my staff, hopped off the edge of the treehouse, and landed gracefully on the soft forest floor.

“Xing Ning,” I greeted with a small wave. “And the familiar faces… Li Qing, Guo Yupin, Li Ming. Good to see you all again.”

I stopped when my eyes landed on the bald man who looked like a monk. Who was this guy?

The bald cultivator pressed his palms together in a respectful monk’s greeting and bowed slightly. “This humble one is Guo Yimu, a monk seeking the path of enlightenment.”

So? As if expecting my confusion, Xing Ning offered, “Senior, he’s that guy I dueled back then…”

Back when? It took a second, but then it clicked. I snapped my fingers. “Ah, the emo guy—”

Guo Yimu’s eyes widened in hysterical outrage. “Emo guy?! This one has just introduced himself as Guo Yimu, the monk who walks the path of detachment! How can Senior reduce this one’s hard-earned identity to such vulgar slang?!”

I scratched the back of my head and shrugged nonchalantly. “Sorry about that. Force of habit. So, what do you all want?”

Guo Yupin stepped forward and gestured grandly. With a flourish of his sleeve, a massive pile of spirit stones materialized on the ground. They were stacked so high it nearly reached above my height, glittering with dense qi.

“This old man did not know what Senior Wo Li would like as tribute,” Guo Yupin said, his voice carrying that careful deference these cultivators always used around me, “so this one simply brought spirit stones. They are versatile and valuable in the cultivation world.”

I stared at the sparkling mountain. “What am I supposed to do with them? Build a shiny fort?”

Guo Yupin let out a nervous laugh, rubbing his hands together. “They are meant as gifts, Senior. Tokens of my Sect’s deepest gratitude.”

I could already feel a headache coming on. The only reason anyone dumped this much wealth at my feet was because they needed something. Or in this case, they all needed something.

I sighed and turned to Li Ming and Li Qing. “What do you have?”

Li Ming stepped forward, her cheeks flushing as she stuttered, “S-Senior Wo Li… this junior… we… we wanted to express our thanks for all your righteous deeds. Please accept this humble key as a token of our village’s appreciation.” She held out a beautiful object with both hands, bowing deeply.

The key was exquisite. It was carved from pure emerald with delicate leaf motifs swirling across its surface, humming faintly with contained power. I took it and turned it over in my palm, inspecting it closely. I didn’t feel anything particularly special from it, but it clearly meant a lot to the village.

Li Qing cleared her throat and stepped closer. “Senior Wo Li, that key is no ordinary treasure. It is the Emerald Verdant Key, forged by our ancestors at the founding of our hidden village. For generations, our people have guarded the entrance to a secret realm known as the Emerald Verdant Forest. This key is the only means to open the spatial gate that leads inside. Within that pocket dimension lie abundant spiritual herbs, ancient spirit veins, rare spirit beasts, and untouched natural treasures that have remained untouched for thousands of years. Our village has only ever entered sparingly, taking only what we needed to survive, for fear of disturbing the balance or attracting the greed of powerful sects.”

She paused, her eyes filled with genuine reverence as she looked at the key in my hand. “By presenting this to you, we entrust the guardianship of the realm itself into Senior’s hands. With your boundless power and harmonious way with nature, we believe the secret realm will thrive under your care far better than it ever could under ours.”

Secret realms were pocket dimensions packed with resources, something even a newcomer like me could understand was a huge deal in this world. Handing over the key to the Emerald Verdant Forest was no small gesture.

“Alright,” I said, my tone turning firmer as I looked at each of them in turn. “Enough with the gifts and the roundabout pleasantries. Be honest with me. What do you actually want?”

I kept my voice calm, but I made sure they could tell I wasn’t in the mood for more xianxia-style dancing around the subject.

Guo Yupin lowered his head deeply, his voice thick with remorse. “Senior Wo Li, this old man wishes to ask for forgiveness for the affront I once showed you. The same is true for my son and my grandson. Our eyes were clouded by arrogance, and we failed to recognize the boundless benevolence of Senior.”

He forced Guo Yimu into a deep bow, practically shoving the bald monk’s forehead toward the ground as he continued. “This old man wishes to leave my unworthy grandson, Guo Yimu, in Senior’s care to be punished as you see fit. Work him like a horse if it pleases you. Make full use of him. Have him run errands, perform the lowliest jobs—anything to atone for our past offenses. This one encourages Senior to make him sweep the grounds, carry burdens, and serve without complaint.”

I grimaced. That was tough, huh? Guo Yimu was basically sobbing while his own grandfather threw him at me like a used rag. I wasn’t really interested, but… I guessed I could use a helping hand. There were things I could delegate now. Cataloging and organizing the random tributes I kept receiving from the local wildlife, for starters. And apparently a lot of sweeping. I didn’t like imposing on Xing Ning too much, since he’d shown he could pull his weight, and he’d kind of grown on me. Pulling the cart back and forth to the village to fetch supplies and sell surplus would be perfect busywork. Since Xing Ning’s stay wasn’t permanent, Guo Yimu could make a decent replacement gofer… ahem, I meant assistant.

“There won’t be any salary,” I told him flatly, testing Guo Yupin.

Guo Yupin waved his hands quickly. “There is no need for salary, Senior! You are free to work my grandson like a horse. He will serve without complaint!”

SCORE! Wait, wait… calm down, me. It’s against your principles to own people. You are not that dude.

I cleared my throat. “Actually, Guo Yimu, you’re now hired. Salary will be roughly a hundred small spirit stones a month. Is that good enough?”

Guo Yimu was nodding furiously. “Of course, of course!”

I stepped forward and patted the bald fellow on the shoulder. He was actually crying, full-on ugly crying. Tears and snot mixed together as he blubbered something about gratitude and enlightenment.

“Ugh, you got your snot and slobber all over my robes,” I complained, wrinkling my nose.

With a casual wave, I cast Cleansing Spirits. A gentle wave of life energy washed over me, instantly removing the mess and leaving my robes fresh and fragrant with the scent of morning dew.

I turned to Li Qing next. “You?”

The old woman sighed, her expression a mix of shame and determination. “Senior Wo Li… this old woman’s thoughts were not pure either. I also wish to ask a favor from you. It is for you to protect my granddaughter. There are many evil men after her, and I would only feel safe if you could keep watch over her here. Of course, I am willing to provide a large amount of spirit stones for her stay in your forest.”

Whoa. She just referred to the forest with a possessive noun attached to my name. I tilted my head. “Do I own this forest?”

Li Qing looked genuinely confused. “Are you not? Didn’t you claim it?”

I asked, “How?” Then I faked a small cough and clarified, “I’m not from these lands, and customs might be different from where I come from. Are there any procedures for someone to claim a piece of land? And if there are, what are they? I came to this particular forest wanting to camp or live the outdoor life. I don’t think I will be living here like forever and might move to other places, because that’s the essence of camping, right? I don’t know. Maybe if I got bored of this forest, decided I’ve explored enough, I’d go somewhere else and do camping there.”

The group stared at me in stunned silence, as if I had just questioned the color of the sky.

What?! It was an honest question…

Xing Ning tilted his head, frowning. “Why? What’s the point in establishing a place as your sacred land when you’d just leave?”

Sacred land? That sounded like some heavy cultivator term, but I couldn’t even begin to unpack it before they all jumped in at once.

Li Ming spoke up first, her voice hesitant. “Senior, does it have something to do with your Dao?”

Guo Yimu’s eyes widened dramatically. “No, no! He’s definitely just a bored immortal feeding his wanderlust, roaming from one lower domain to another. Probably to flaunt his power. Be careful of him, Lady Ming, he might be lusting after your body—”

Guo Yupin smacked the back of Guo Yimu’s head with a loud smack. “Watch your mouth, boy! The lord immortal has better things to do than hear your stupid prattle!”

Li Qing nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve heard of wandering immortals before, but I thought they were long gone.”

It seemed they were all misunderstanding me as some kind of immortal. Frankly, I had no idea where I’d scale on this world’s power system. A Nascent Soul was definitely beneath me. I’d been thinking back to that fight with the Nascent Soul cultivator and realized I could’ve won it way more cleanly, like casting Spirit World Tree first and then blitzing him before he even knew what hit him.

I raised my hands to calm them down. “Alright, alright, everyone settle down. Let me answer your questions one by one. First, I don’t really know about this ‘Dao’ talk you’re all throwing around. Maybe I’ve got the Dao of Camping or something—who knows? Second, no, I’m not lusting after anyone’s body. I don’t mind you speaking frankly, but please refrain from defamation. That would actually be a crime back where I’m from. And lastly, no, I don’t think I qualify as a wandering immortal the same way Lady Li Qing is thinking.”

I faked a small cough and asked straight, “So, how do sects or hidden villages like yours claim a territory anyway?”

Guo Yupin and Li Qing exchanged a quick glance.

Guo Yupin cleared his throat. “This old man… doesn’t really know the exact procedures for someone like Senior. Our Serenity Cliff Sect has been native to this land for generations. Our ancestor came here from another domain and began recruiting disciples. They claimed the central lake of the domain, which contained many precious resources and spiritual properties. After that, they defended the lake for many hundreds of years until the world recognized us as the Serenity Cliff Sect. There was definitely a lot of drama and bloodshed behind the scenes when the sect was first being founded.”

Li Qing nodded in agreement. “It was much the same for us. The secrecy of our organization played a large role in allowing us to assert ourselves with very little bloodshed.”

Guo Yimu’s eyes suddenly lit up like he’d just discovered the meaning of life. “Senior Wo Li! Are you planning on building a sect? This humble monk offers himself to join as your first disciple! I will sweep the grounds, tend the spirit herbs, and spread your glorious name across the—”

Guo Yupin smacked him on the head again, harder this time. “You foolish boy! Stop dreaming! You already have a Sect! Senior is clearly above such mortal concerns. Do you think a being of his caliber would want a useless bald donkey like you as his first disciple? Sit down and shut your mouth before you embarrass our entire family line!”

They were just passing thoughts in the beginning about owning a forest. Basically, what I got from them was that I could “own” this forest as long as I was strong enough to defend it and actually stayed on it. Classic xianxia logic—might makes right, and possession is nine-tenths of the law when you can blow up anyone who disagrees. No paperwork, no permits, just “I live here, and I’ll kill you if you try to take it.”

I rubbed my temple, feeling another headache coming on. These people turned everything into some grand cultivation saga. All I wanted was a nice place to camp, read my nature memoir in peace, and maybe grow a few oversized flowers without someone declaring it my “sacred land” or trying to become my first disciple.

Still, who knew, right? Sect building honestly sounded fun, but I guessed another time.

I sighed and looked at the expectant faces around me. “Look… I’m not building a sect. I’m not claiming anything in some dramatic way. I just like the vibes here. The trees are friendly, the air is clean, and the wildlife brings me snacks sometimes. If defending the place is what it takes to keep the annoying young masters and greedy sects away, then fine. I’ll defend it. But don’t go spreading rumors that I’m some ancient immortal looking for disciples or whatever. I’m just Wo Li. I camp. I nap. I help when I feel like it. That’s it.”

Either way, it looked like my peaceful camping life had just gotten a little more complicated with their requests. Should I accept it? Or just shoo them away?