Immortal Druid

I died.

There was no confusion about it.

For the briefest moment, I became something… else. Something larger. My awareness stretched outward, dissolving into the fabric of the forest itself.

I could feel everything.

The panic of fleeing animals as they scattered in every direction, their instincts screaming at them to survive. I felt Roo moving among them, guiding them, pushing them away from danger with a strange mix of urgency and care.

I saw Old Black, silent and watchful, slithering through the chaos as he retrieved Guo Yimu’s body with quiet respect.

I saw Willow.

She didn’t hesitate.

She fled, cutting through the sky toward Leafhome City, her small form carrying a weight far greater than her size. Whether to warn them or beg for help, I didn’t know.

Everything felt distant and muted, like I was watching the world through water.

Slowly, darkness claimed me.

When I opened my eyes again, I was somewhere else. It was dark, but not in a way that blinded me. I could see perfectly fine, the shadows parting just enough to reveal the figures standing before me.

Two… beings.

They were massive and towering. One had the head of an ox atop a man’s body. The other bore the head of a horse, equally imposing in stature. Something stirred in my memory. Old Earth memories occurred to me, referring to a certain piece of mythology.

“Ox-Head…? Horse-Face?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s us,” Ox-Head replied casually. “Welcome back to the Underworld.”

Horse-Face tilted his head, studying me with a hint of curiosity. “What do you want this time?” he asked. “Finally ready to go?”

I blinked.

“Wait… I’ve been here before already?”

Ox-Head nodded. “Indeed.”

Right.

I had died before.

That tracked.

Horse-Face snorted, crossing his arms. “You really should reconsider not going back,” he said. “The surface world isn’t kind to people like you. Misery, struggle, endless trouble? It’s practically guaranteed. Down here? Stable job, decent benefits, no one trying to kill you every other day.”

He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. “We could even get you a position. Good hours. Reliable structure. Better than whatever chaos you keep throwing yourself into.”

Then his expression soured.

“Unlike a certain cat who never followed through on his promises,” he grumbled. “Left us stuck doing the same job for who knows how long. No transfers, no promotions… just the same routine, over and over again…”

He kept going.

I stopped listening.

“I’d love to talk more, guys,” I said, already gripping my staff, “but I’m busy. Maybe some other time.”

Ox-Head chuckled softly. “You won’t even remember this conversation,” he said. “But thank you for trying.”

Fair enough.

I lifted my staff and brought it down with a firm thump.

“Rebirth World.”

Power surged.

A familiar, heavy cooldown settled somewhere deep within me, a silent reminder that this wasn’t something I could rely on consecutively.

Ox-Head gave me a look that was almost… sympathetic.

“Good luck,” he said. “You’ll need it.”

The resurrection spell, Rebirth World, dragged me back from the void with all the subtlety of a storm tearing open the sky. The earth rejected me in a violent cough, soil splitting as I was spat back into the world of the living. My lungs seized, then filled, and I forced myself upright, dirt sliding off my skin in clumps. Strangely, there was no panic, no lingering terror. Only a deep, unnatural calm that settled into my bones like still water.

That calm felt wrong.

Clarity followed soon after, sharp and unwelcome. The storm of rage I remembered, the reckless fury, the suffocating grief? It hadn’t been entirely mine. My jaw tightened as the realization settled in. Zhen Rang. That bastard had tampered with my mind with some form of spell, dragging out the ugliest parts of me and feeding them until they consumed everything else. It wasn’t just a fight. It had been manipulation.

I scanned the area, senses stretching outward, but neither Zhen Ai nor Zhen Rang remained. The forest whispered in uneasy tones, as if recovering from a nightmare it couldn’t fully remember.

A flutter of wings broke the silence.

Willow descended from above, her pale feathers catching the light as she landed lightly on my shoulder. Behind her came a group of cultivators, their auras steady and disciplined, each of them at Core Formation. At their front stood Li Qing, her presence calm yet undeniable, the pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator settling over the clearing like a quiet command.

Her gaze swept across the destruction before settling on me. “What happened here?” she asked, her tone steady but edged with concern. “Our alarms were triggered as well; however, it seems we were too late.”

I exhaled slowly, grounding myself before answering. “Someone trespassed into my domain,” I said, my voice low and controlled. “He took my guest and left this behind.” I gestured vaguely to the ruined surroundings. “Don’t bother pursuing him. The enemy is too strong.”

Li Qing’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t argue out of pride. Instead, she stepped closer, her sleeves shifting as she folded her arms. “I see,” she said calmly. “But that doesn’t mean you should dismiss our help so easily.”

Before I could respond, she produced several talismans from her sleeve, their inscriptions glowing faintly with contained power. With practiced ease, she burned them one by one, the ashes dissolving into thin streams of light that twisted through the air like searching serpents.

“I can help you track them down,” she said.

The strands of light converged into a single talisman, its surface pulsing faintly as if alive. Li Qing stepped forward and placed it in my hand. “Follow where it pulls you,” she instructed. “It will lead you to them.”

I studied the talisman for a moment before closing my fingers around it. “Thank you,” I said simply.

There was nothing more to say.

“It’s time for a hunt,” I muttered.

“Wild Shape: Tiger.”

Power surged through me, bones shifting, muscles expanding, the world shrinking as my senses sharpened into something primal and precise. My body twisted and grew, fur bursting forth as I became something vast and terrible. The forest seemed smaller beneath me now, every scent vivid, every sound a thread I could follow.

I lowered my head and gently bit onto the talisman, careful not to damage it. It pulsed faintly between my teeth, tugging at me, guiding me forward. The hunter instinct of a tiger settled deep within my chest, something ancient and absolute.

I pawed at the ground, claws digging deep, a low growl rumbling from my throat. “I’ll be back soon,” I said, my voice distorted but still intelligible. I glanced at Willow. “Calm the forest. Let them know everything will be fine again.”

Willow’s golden eyes gleamed with quiet confidence. “Leave it to me,” she replied.

That was enough.

I stepped forward and activated Nature’s Stride, the world folding around me as I vanished from the forest and reappeared far beyond its borders. The transition was seamless, like stepping through an unseen doorway, and I wasted no time continuing the chase.

The sky darkened slightly as crows began to gather above me, their presence forming a shifting canopy of black wings. They circled, watched, followed. They could feel my intent, my fury, and my purpose.

One crow broke from the flock, descending low until it flew just ahead of me. Its eyes gleamed with a knowing intelligence that set it apart from the rest.

“We are at your disposal,” the crow spoke, its voice old and steady, echoing with something far beyond a mere beast. “We will help you track the trespasser.”

I huffed in acknowledgment, not slowing for a moment.

Hours blurred together as I ran, the world reduced to motion and instinct. The talisman pulled, the crows guided, and I followed without hesitation. Trees blurred past, terrain shifted beneath my paws, but nothing broke my stride.

That dragon thought he could just walk into my domain, tear everything apart, and take what he wanted.

I would rip his throat out.

Maybe it was a family matter. Maybe it wasn’t my place to interfere.

I didn’t care.

That was my guest. My domain. My balance.

Hurting your own sister like that? It wasn’t natural. Maybe it was arrogant of me to decide what was and wasn’t natural, but I had already made my choice.

When I said I was the balance, I meant it.

And I was going to enforce it.

…

..

.

[POV: Zhen Rang]

Zhen Rang cut through the sky like a streak of cold light, his robes fluttering behind him as the wind howled in protest of his speed. In his grasp, Zhen Ai hung limply, cradled in his arm like nothing more than a discarded object. Her presence barely registered in his mind anymore; she was a means to an end, nothing more.

He had already put significant distance between himself and that forest.

Or so he thought.

A faint disturbance brushed against his senses, subtle enough that most cultivators would have ignored it. Zhen Rang did not. His gaze shifted slightly as he noticed the crows, scattered at first, then gathering in quiet numbers.

His expression darkened.

“Spirit of the World Tree,” a voice called out softly, yet it seemed to resonate from every direction at once, filling the sky with its quiet authority.

Zhen Rang’s eyes sharpened.

The world changed.

A massive tree manifested within the heavens, its trunk so vast it seemed to pierce through reality itself, connecting sky and earth in a single, impossible pillar. Its presence pressed down on everything, ancient and unyielding, as though the very world had chosen to intervene.

Then came the whisper.

“You shouldn’t have wrecked my place.”

Zhen Rang turned instantly, his movements precise and controlled, but there was nothing behind him. Uncertainty flickered in his eyes.

Without warning, the weight in his arm vanished, and Zhen Ai disappeared.

Zhen Rang froze mid-flight, disbelief flashing across his features as his gaze snapped downward, then around, searching for any trace of her. There was nothing. Not even a ripple of spatial distortion.

“Impossible.”

A presence appeared ahead of him.

Not with a flash, nor with any grand display, but simply… there.

Floating at a short distance before him was a figure that defied immediate comprehension. A crown of living twigs rested upon his head, delicate yet alive, as if it had grown there naturally. His skin was flawless, pale like carved ivory, untouched by imperfection. A cascade of silver hair flowed down his back, shifting gently despite the absence of wind.

Behind him, ethereal wings shimmered, resembling those of a butterfly, yet far more intricate, their faint glow distorting the air around them.

Zhen Rang’s instincts screamed, but his expression remained composed, his voice steady despite the unease creeping into his chest.

“What are you?” he demanded, staring at Zhen Ai in the creature’s arms.

“I am Nevle Drol Diurdhcra,” the being said, its voice soft, almost playful.

A faint smile followed.

“But… you can call me Wally.”

…

..

.

Zhen Rang’s gaze sharpened the moment he saw me, recognition flickering across his otherwise cold expression. “You are that pointy-eared cultivator,” he remarked, his voice laced with quiet disdain. “Hah~! This is rich! How are you... alive?”

“I can only spare you seven minutes,” I told him flatly.

Seven minutes. That was all I had managed to claw my way up to after relentless training, trial, and more failures than I cared to count. Seven minutes of this state under the Spirit of the World Tree. Seven minutes of overwhelming control.

It would be enough.

Behind him, Zhen Ai trembled in his grasp, her hands clutching her stomach as her face twisted in raw anguish. “My baby… my baby…” she cried, her voice breaking, desperate and hollow in a way that lingered in the air. “Oh, where’s my baby…”

I exhaled softly, the edge in me dulling just a fraction. “Sleep,” I said.

Slumber Pollen drifted from my fingertips, golden motes catching the light as they settled around her. Her cries weakened, then faded entirely as her body went slack. I let her go.

The sky darkened as a murder of crows surged upward, gathering beneath her like a living tide. Wings overlapped, bodies pressed together, forming a shifting cradle that caught her gently before spiraling away into the distance.

Zhen Rang’s eyes flashed, and he vanished.

I moved before the distortion even finished forming, before the fleeing cradle of crows that carried Zhen Ai.

Nature’s Stride folded the world around me, and I appeared behind him, my hand already clamped around his skull. Bone met pressure, and I crushed down without hesitation.

His head dissolved into mist.

It was an illusion.

“Get out of my way.”

His voice came from above. I looked up just in time to see his leg descending, wrapped in blazing, furious qi. The air screamed as the strike came down toward my head.

I stepped through the world again.

Nature’s Stride carried me just above him, and I answered in kind, my heel slamming into the side of his head. The impact thundered through the air. He raised a barrier at the last moment, layers of qi hardening into a shield, but it wasn’t enough to fully negate the force.

He was sent flying.

I didn’t let up.

Under the Spirit of the World Tree, everything felt… different. Nature’s Stride only worked through living bodies of nature, like plant life. However, under the Spirit of the World Tree, every druid abilities and spells would be elevated to the next level. Instead of limiting me to just vines, trees, and various undergrowth, I could now move through nature freely.

This elevation was also true for the rest of my spells and abilities.

I raised my hand.

“Sunlight Orb.”

A concentrated beam of solar energy erupted forward, tearing through the air with searing intensity as it locked onto Zhen Rang’s trajectory.

He reacted instantly, a barrier of water qi forming before him. The beam struck, hissing violently as water met solar fire. Steam exploded outward, and the attack fractured, scattering into countless motes of fading light.

I didn’t stop.

“Sunlight Orb.”

Every mote and fragment of the initial Sunlight Orb ignited again.

Dozens of condensed spheres formed from the remnants, each one curving mid-flight, twisting through impossible angles as they converged on him from every direction. The sky lit up with streaks of gold, unpredictable and relentless.

A spatial ripple flickered.

I moved before he could even complete it.

Nature’s Stride placed me directly in front of where he would appear, my body already coiled, my fist drawn back. The energy gathered, focused with technique. The same punch Roo had drilled into me over and over again, except with the addition of a spell’s flair.

I drove it forward.

“Sunlight Orb.”

The orb condensed around my fist, and the moment it connected, the impact detonated. His body snapped backward, sent hurtling through the air like a broken comet.

I was already there.

Another stride. Another step through the world with Nature’s Stride.

I appeared beside him, my arm swinging again. “Sunlight Orb,” I called, letting the energy flare visibly, deliberately.

He reacted exactly as I expected.

Panic flickered in his movements. He vanished, teleporting downward, escaping the incoming strike.

My fist cut through empty air. However, the reality was that it was just a bluff. I followed through anyway, letting the motion complete naturally as I landed.

“Entanglement,” I murmured under my breath.

The real attack had already begun. Roots exploded from beneath Zhen Rang the moment his feet touched the ground, thick and violent, coiling around his limbs and torso.

Flowers bloomed along the vines in the same instant.

“Slumber Pollen.”

Golden pollen burst outward in a dense cloud.

Zhen Rang coughed sharply, his movements stuttering as the pollen invaded his senses. For a brief moment, I saw the hesitation and the slowing of thought.

Then it shattered.

With a violent surge of power, he tore free, his form distorting as black scales erupted across his body. Flesh twisted, expanded, and reformed as he ascended, transforming into a massive black dragon that coiled through the sky.

He was enormous and far larger than Zhen Ai had ever been in her dragon shape.

His voice thundered from above, reverberating through the heavens themselves. “Dao Domain: Nine Suns Phantasm.”

The sky ignited.

Nine blazing suns manifested overhead, each one radiating unbearable heat. The air warped and bent under their presence, the ground below beginning to scorch and crack as the sheer intensity pressed down on everything.

I stared up at it, unimpressed.

“How about no?” I muttered.

I raised my hand.

For a moment, I hesitated. This ability hadn’t been made for this world. It wasn’t supposed to work here, not in a place governed by qi instead of mana. It was my strongest dispelling ability, one that could end most fights for me with the right timing. Past experimentation and enough practice had already given me my answer and the confidence that it would work. In fights that required finer accuracy and timing, I had little opportunity to use this power.

“Natural Order.”

The world… corrected itself.

The nine suns flickered once, their overwhelming presence unraveling like threads being pulled apart. One by one, they vanished, leaving behind nothing but empty sky and fading heat.

Silence followed.

Even in his dragon form, I felt the sharp drop in Zhen Rang’s qi thanks to the strain from having his domain forcibly dismantled. That attack had cost him dearly.

I exhaled slowly, the corners of my lips curling upward just slightly.

“This is my victory,” I declared.