Immortal Druid

“Wild Shape: Eagle.”

My body twisted midair as feathers erupted across my skin. Bones hollowed, vision sharpened, and the world suddenly expanded beneath me in impossible detail. I kicked off the Ironwood Spike and shot toward the heavens like a streak of silver lightning.

Behind me, the ruins of the Serernity Cliff Sect remained.

Lu Jing chased after me without hesitation.

His figure blurred across the sky, calm and relentless. He suddenly swung downward with his formless sword. Invisible slashes tore through the air. Space itself screamed apart.

I folded my wings sharply and twisted through the attacks. The slashing force passed beside me, carving apart clouds and distant mountains far below. Even in Wild Shape, I could feel how terrifying his power was.

However, I was unmoved as mana provided me the explosive power I needed.

Qi truly was different from mana.

Mana burned fiercely, explosive and violent, like forcing nature itself into submission. Qi, however, felt endless. Smooth. Alive. It flowed through the body naturally instead of being commanded. While mana exhausted me rapidly during prolonged battles, qi sustained movement with absurd efficiency.

At this speed, I barely felt tired. At the same time, I could sustain a level of speed that beat even the cultivators’ teleportation.

I beat my wings once and burst higher into the atmosphere.

Lu Jing followed closely.

His voice suddenly echoed directly within my mind through sound transmission.

“Wo Li, what exactly are you planning?”

I ignored him and raised my wings.

“Sunlight Orb.”

Golden spheres condensed around me one after another, each blazing like miniature suns. I sent them hurtling downward. Trails of scorching fire stretched across the sky as they crashed toward Lu Jing from every angle.

He dodged them effortlessly.

Of course, he did.

His movements remained absurdly precise despite the speed we were traveling. Every shift of his body avoided destruction by the narrowest margin possible.

Then I smirked internally and snapped my wing.

A hidden orb surged forward between the others.

“Lightning Orb.”

Crack.

The sphere detonated into a bolt of blue lightning that struck him directly. Lu Jing’s body jolted slightly as electricity exploded across his form. It barely harmed him, but it stalled him long enough for me to widen the distance again.

I laughed as I soared higher.

“Coward!” Lu Jing’s voice rang in my head again. “Are you planning to flee into the stars now?”

“Exactly,” I shot back through sound transmission. “Try keeping up.”

The domain behind us slowly shrank into a tiny speck. The higher we rose, the colder the world became. Clouds thickened beneath my wings while the atmosphere trembled around our ascent.

I stretched my wings outward.

“Weather Control.”

The skies darkened instantly.

Massive storm clouds churned into existence around us, blotting out the heavens. Thunder roared across the atmosphere as violent winds spiraled outward.

“Call Lightning.”

Bolts descended like divine punishment. Thousands of heavenly strikes rained upon Lu Jing simultaneously. He merely raised his hand. The formless sword swept horizontally. The entire storm split apart. Lightning scattered. Clouds were severed in half. The sky itself became clear again beneath the pressure of his sword intent.

When I finally rose high enough to glimpse the curvature of the Earthly Heart Continent, I unleashed another spell.

“World Fall.”

Gravity distorted violently.

The surrounding space groaned as overwhelming pressure descended toward Lu Jing, enough to crush mountains into dust.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Law of Space.”

Then he vanished.

Danger screamed through my instincts.

He appeared directly before me.

I flapped my wings violently.

Countless razor-sharp feathers exploded outward like arrows. They slammed against his body in a storm of silver streaks, only to bounce harmlessly away as space distorted around him.

His sword thrust toward my chest.

But one feather behind him suddenly glowed green.

“Nature’s Stride.”

My body dissolved into light and reappeared beside that feather instantly.

Just behind him.

I left a Sunlight Orb in my previous location.

The orb detonated point-blank.

Golden flames exploded across the sky, forcing Lu Jing to pause momentarily while I ascended even further.

Higher.

Higher.

Soon, all six continents became visible beneath me. The world stretched endlessly below like a living painting. Oceans shimmered under sunlight while countless domains looked no larger than grains of sand.

I inhaled deeply and unleashed madness. Hundreds of powerful Sunlight Orbs formed around me simultaneously. It was normally impossible, even for me. But by utilizing qi to stabilize the mana consumption, I forced the technique beyond its natural limits.

The heavens filled with miniature suns. The orbs rained toward Lu Jing like divine meteors. Explosions swallowed the sky one after another, forcing even him to slow beneath the endless bombardment.

That moment was enough.

I turned upward and hurled myself into the dark vacuum beyond the atmosphere.

My Wild Shape unraveled.

Feathers dissolved from my body as I returned to my true form. The moment I entered outer space, agony struck instantly.

There was no air.

No sound.

No life.

My lungs screamed, but I endured it. My vitality far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. I could survive long enough.

Lu Jing floated before me calmly as though the void meant nothing to him.

His voice echoed within my mind once more through qi.

“Wo Li… what are you thinking?”

I stared past him toward the distant world below us.

The Earthly Heart Continent looked so small from here.

It was fragile and beautiful.

“If I wanted to fight you without hurting anyone,” I replied through sound transmission, “then there was only one place left.”

The emptiness of outer space made everything harder. There was barely any energy here. No abundant mana. No spiritual qi. Even breathing felt impossible. But I raised my hand regardless.

“Spirit of the World Tree.”

Space trembled.

An enormous phantom tree manifested behind me, vast beyond comprehension. Its roots stretched through the void while luminous leaves shimmered like stars themselves. Ancient life flooded the emptiness around us.

Then I spoke again.

“Wild Shape: Primal Nature Spirit.”

Power erupted from my body.

A crown of living twigs formed upon my head, extending elegantly like sacred antlers. My skin transformed into flawless porcelain ivory while flowing silver hair cascaded down my back in radiant waves. Ethereal butterfly-like wings unfolded behind me, scattering glowing particles across the darkness of space.

Mana exploded outward.

For a moment, the void itself seemed to bloom with life.

Yet something else stirred within me.

Qi.

A small amount remained inside my body, unconsciously absorbed after spending so long around this xianxia world. Without thinking, I fused it with my mana. The reaction was instantaneous. A qualitative evolution occurred.

My wings expanded magnificently, becoming longer and more divine. The crown upon my head stretched further into luminous antlers while flowers bloomed along the length of my staff.

The staff itself pulsed with newfound life as vines wrapped around it naturally.

Power coursed through me unlike anything I had ever felt before.

Not mana.

Not qi.

Something greater born from both.

Under the Druid class, I specialized primarily in Casting and Wild Shape. Thorn Whip, Iron Spike, and Sunlight Orb were merely the spells I used most often because they were efficient, versatile, and devastating in direct combat. In truth, the Druid inheritance contained countless techniques tied to nature itself.

I tightened my grip on my staff and pointed it toward Lu Jing.

“Elemental Orb.”

An orb of condensed elemental energy surged forward instantly. Wind, flame, water, lightning, and earth spiraled together in violent equilibrium, distorting space around the projectile as it shot toward him.

“Law of Lies.”

The orb passed harmlessly through his body.

My eyes narrowed immediately.

Druidic Insight flowed through me instinctively, analyzing life, mana, qi, intent, and existence itself. The Lu Jing before me was real. There had been no illusion. No clone.

A presence appeared beside me.

Lu Jing swung his formless sword downward.

I activated Nature’s Stride instantly, teleporting toward one of the drifting leaves scattered nearby, but his blade still brushed across my shoulder.

“Law of Death.”

Pain exploded through me.

The flesh surrounding the wound blackened instantly as decay spread across my body like rotting roots beneath bark. My skin withered while vitality drained frighteningly fast.

“Lifepulse.”

Emerald light burst from my body. Life energy surged through my veins and repaired the damage rapidly. However, the decay remained and continued spreading.

My heart sank.

I immediately activated another ability.

“Shedding.”

The affected flesh peeled away from my body like dead bark splitting from a tree. Rotten skin, muscle, and corrupted blood detached completely before dissolving into ash within the void.

The decay vanished with it.

But Lu Jing was already before me again.

“Law of Loss.”

The moment he spoke, something inside me faltered.

A crushing sense of defeat settled over my mind without warning. My concentration wavered while exhaustion and hopelessness flooded my thoughts. It felt as though every action had already become meaningless.

Then the sword came again.

And again.

And again.

Each strike carved into me with horrifying precision. Wherever the blade touched, decay spread immediately. I alternated desperately between Nature’s Stride, Lifepulse, and Shedding, keeping myself alive under the onslaught.

But no matter where I moved, his sword always found me.

It was impossible.

There was no pattern.

No rhythm.

No predictable sequence.

My Druidic Insight analyzed every movement desperately, yet Lu Jing fought without any discernible structure. He wasn’t cornering me through technique.

He was simply overwhelming me, exhausting me in the process.

“Verdant Barrier.”

A massive green barrier erupted around my body, layers of bark-like mana reinforced by life force and roots twisting endlessly together.

His sword slammed against it and cracks spread instantly.

“You’re looking down on me too much,” I said coldly through sound transmission.

Then I grabbed his leg.

Lu Jing’s eyes widened slightly.

I hurled him across space with all the strength my transformed body could muster. The moment distance formed between us, I raised my staff toward the World Tree behind me. Phytokinesis surged outward. Countless leaves detached from the Spirit of the World Tree and scattered across the void like a jade-colored storm.

“Razorjade Leaf.”

The leaves hardened instantly into razor-sharp projectiles glowing with emerald light. Simultaneously, more jade leaves grew directly from my staff before launching toward Lu Jing in overwhelming numbers.

“Law of Space.”

Lu Jing vanished sideways.

But I had already expected it.

“Nature’s Stride.”

I teleported directly onto one of the flying leaves and appeared beside him instantly. My staff swung toward his head while elemental energy gathered at its tip once more.

“Elemental Orb.”

“Law of Lies.”

My staff passed straight through him again.

But this time, I reacted immediately.

The elemental energy at the tip transformed instantly.

From unstable elemental chaos—

Into concentrated solar destruction.

“Sunlight Orb.”

The orb re-targeted toward Lu Jing at point-blank range.

His eyes finally sharpened slightly.

“Law of Abyss.”

He disappeared and utter nothingness swallowed him entirely.

My instincts screamed.

I stretched my hand outward while forcing my Druidic Insight to its limit. Simultaneously, I activated my spiritual body senses, extending my awareness into the surrounding void. I felt something.

Something hidden inside the abyss itself.

I grabbed it instinctively and pulled.

A slash flashed.

My arm severed cleanly from my shoulder.

Blood scattered across space.

I immediately cast Lifepulse. Emerald vitality surged outward as flesh, bone, nerves, and muscle regenerated rapidly, reforming my arm within seconds.

Then multiple Lu Jings appeared around me.

Each one radiated real presence.

“Law of Lies and Loss.”

They moved simultaneously, far too fast for my senses.

Their swords carved through my body from every direction. Flesh split apart while blood and chunks of my body scattered into the void. The sensation of loss intensified further, crushing my mind beneath unbearable hopelessness.

But I no longer resisted directly.

Instead, I spread my arms.

“Entanglement.”

The blood floating around me transformed instantly.

Chunks of severed flesh twisted violently as roots erupted from them. Massive tree roots burst outward from every wound across my body, snapping toward the surrounding Lu Jings like starving serpents.

Behind me, the Spirit of the World Tree reacted similarly.

Its colossal roots exploded across space.

The void became a forest of grasping roots.

Every clone vanished instantly.

The real Lu Jing appeared far away in the darkness, staring calmly at me.

I wiped blood from my lips and smiled faintly.

“I can tell,” I transmitted toward him, “your qi is depleting much faster than you want me to believe.”

The smile on my face widened slightly.

“In this environment, replenishing energy is impossible for you.”

And it was true.

Outer space lacked both qi and mana almost entirely. Every technique consumed finite reserves.

Of course, I wasn’t in good condition either.

My mana expenditure had already become monstrous.

The only reason I was lasting this long was because my druidic abilities allowed passive mana regeneration, however small it was. But the real problem was behind me.

The Spirit of the World Tree.

Maintaining such an existence in outer space was absurdly taxing. The sheer amount of mana required bordered on insanity. Even I had no idea how much longer I could sustain it under these conditions.

Neither of us could continue like this forever.

Lu Jing spoke through sound transmission.

“Let’s finish this now.”

I tightened my grip around my staff.

“Agreed.”

The moment the words left my mouth, Lu Jing’s expression turned absolutely cold.

“Dao Domain: Abyssal Death Touch.”

Darkness swallowed everything. The stars vanished. The distant continents disappeared. Even the Spirit of the World Tree behind me suddenly felt tiny and insignificant beneath the pressure descending upon reality itself.

A colossal entity manifested within the void.

I could not fully comprehend its shape.

It resembled neither man nor beast, only an existence so immense that my mind instinctively rejected understanding it. Its presence crushed the surrounding space into stillness while abyssal darkness spread endlessly around us.

Then it looked at me.

My body froze instantly.

I could not move.

Not even my fingers responded.

An enormous hand slowly extended toward me, carrying a single finger vast enough to eclipse entire mountains. The closer it came, the more violently my instincts screamed.

Death.

Absolute death.

The World Tree behind me trembled beneath the domain’s suppression.

The finger descended.

I narrowed my eyes and raised my staff with immense effort.

“Natural Order.”

The world shattered. Darkness exploded apart like broken glass. The Dao Domain collapsed instantly. The colossal entity vanished. Stars returned to the void. Lu Jing suddenly coughed out a massive mouthful of blood. His eyes widened with disbelief.

I could sense his qi plummeting catastrophically after the forced collapse of his Dao Domain.

“Impossible…” Lu Jing muttered. “How did you erase my domain?”

His aura fluctuated violently, but despite everything, madness still burned within his eyes.

“I’m not done yet!”

He raised his trembling hand again.

“Dao Domain: Abyssal Touch!”

Darkness returned once more.

The enormous figure manifested again behind reality itself, its abyssal presence crushing the surrounding void beneath impossible pressure. This time, however, I did not attempt to resist.

I gritted my teeth and let it touch me.

The finger descended upon my body.

Pain erupted instantly.

My vision nearly blacked out as abyssal energy flooded into every inch of my existence. It felt horrifyingly similar to the Heavenly Tribulation I once endured. My flesh cracked apart while my soul screamed beneath the overwhelming destruction pouring through me.

It was agony beyond words, enough to annihilate ordinary immortals instantly.

But it was not enough.

The darkness trembled and shattered.

The Dao Domain vanished completely.

I remained floating silently in space, battered and bloodied, but alive.

Lu Jing stared at me as though he had just witnessed the impossible.

“How…” he whispered hoarsely. “How is this possible?”

I said nothing. There was no reason to explain. My current Wild Shape possessed an innate ability unlike anything ordinary cultivation techniques could achieve. The negation of any single instance of damage. No matter how powerful. No matter how absolute. As long as it came all at once, I could survive it once.

I slowly lifted my staff toward him.

“My turn.”

A tiny spark of light appeared above the staff.

Then it began growing.

Larger.

Brighter.

Hotter.

The distant sun above us resonated with it while mana and qi fused together within the spell. The surrounding vacuum distorted beneath the overwhelming heat as the miniature sun expanded continuously.

Even Lu Jing’s face changed.

For the first time since this battle began, I saw fear.

“Sunblaze Inferno.”

The miniature sun exploded forward.

A brilliant cloud of golden-white flames erupted across outer space like the birth of a new star. The inferno devoured everything in its path while waves of solar fire spread endlessly through the void.

“Law of Abyss!” Lu Jing roared desperately.

His eyes turned bloodshot as he forcibly squeezed the last remnants of qi from his body. Darkness erupted around him in an attempt to swallow the flames.

But the attack was too strong.

The inferno overwhelmed the abyss.

The flames consumed him entirely.

When the light finally faded, only half of Lu Jing’s body remained. His right arm was gone. His lower torso had been charred completely, saved by a sliver of abyssal barrier. Burning solar fire still clung to his flesh while his immortality desperately attempted to regenerate the damage.

I moved instantly.

“Nature’s Stride.”

My body vanished.

“Wild Shape: Tyrant Lizard King.”

Bones exploded outward as my body transformed violently into a colossal draconic predator. Massive jaws filled with rows of monstrous teeth snapped shut toward Lu Jing. His eyes widened. He immediately used flight to retreat backward. But he was too slow.

Crunch.

My jaws tore through his body.

I bit off everything below his waist.

Blood exploded into the void.

“No—!” Lu Jing panicked. “No, no, no! Regenerate! Move!”

His immortality activated frantically. Flesh writhed. Bones attempted to regrow. Qi surged chaotically through the remains of his body as he desperately struggled to survive. I spat out the severed lower half coldly.

Then raised one claw.

“Thorn Whip.”

Normally, the spell required terrain to emerge from.

Earth.

Stone.

Wood.

Something natural.

But now?

I had something else.

The severed flesh drifted through space.

Roots burst from it instantly.

An enormous thorn-covered vine erupted violently from the bloody chunk of Lu Jing’s own body. Fed by my mana and the Spirit of the World Tree, the vine lashed forward with terrifying speed.

Lu Jing’s expression twisted into horror.

The thorny vine wrapped around him completely and then tore him apart.

His remaining body exploded into countless pieces as the vine shredded him repeatedly, reducing flesh, bone, soul, and immortality into nothing but crimson mist drifting silently through outer space.

This time, nothing regenerated.