Immortal Druid

[POV: Kang Wen]

Kang Wen was the weakest cultivator among those gathered around him. Surrounded by Nascent Soul experts and Sect Leaders whose names shook entire regions, he alone remained in the Core Formation realm. Yet despite the enormous disparity, he fulfilled his role without hesitation. Fear and nervousness lingered within his heart, but he suppressed them beneath a determined expression.

"Everyone, this way," Kang Wen said while moving through the forest. "The Dark Order's fortress lies beyond these mountains. Follow closely. The paths ahead are filled with formations and hidden traps."

The group accelerated through the forest using body-lightening arts and movement techniques. Leaves and branches blurred past as they crossed enormous distances with every step. Kang Wen pushed his cultivation to its limits merely to keep pace. Were it not for him leading the way, the Nascent Soul cultivators with him could have reached their destination much sooner.

Above them, countless black crows circled through the skies.

A moment later, sound transmissions entered their minds.

"Turn east after the fallen stone ridge."

"A hidden killing formation lies three hundred meters ahead."

"Do not step upon the moss-covered ground to your left."

"Continue forward. The safest route has already been marked."

The crows served as their eyes, constantly relaying information gathered from above. Thanks to their guidance, the group bypassed numerous traps that would have otherwise delayed their progress.

They had not traveled far when a terrifying explosion erupted behind them.

BOOOOM!

The heavens trembled.

An overwhelming wave of spiritual energy surged across the forest. Kang Wen instinctively glanced backward and nearly lost control of his breathing.

Enormous thorn-covered vines erupted from the earth.

Each vine possessed the thickness of an ancient pillar supporting the heavens. They stretched upward endlessly before branching outward like colossal trees. Forests vanished beneath their advance. Mountains disappeared behind walls of living green. The vines spread across the horizon with frightening speed.

The sight left everyone speechless.

Guo Yupin stared at the distant battlefield as cold sweat formed across his forehead.

"We've been fools," he said quietly. "Every one of us. We thought ourselves powerful because we stood in the Nascent Soul realm. Compared to true immortals, we're no different than insects watching dragons fight."

Nearby, Xing Mei remained equally shaken.

"My ancestors spoke of immortal battles," she said. "They told stories of rivers changing course and mountains collapsing beneath divine techniques. I believed they exaggerated to preserve legends. Looking at this... perhaps they understated everything."

Chen Lin's eyes widened as she watched entire sections of the forest vanish beneath the advancing sea of vines.

"The ancient records described immortals destroying domains and shaking entire continents," she muttered. "I always believed those accounts were embellished by future generations. Yet this is only one exchange of attacks..."

No one disputed her words. The terrifying truth stood before them.

When immortals fought, cultivators of lower realms scarcely mattered. Perhaps Soul Transformation experts could contribute something. But Nascent Soul cultivators? Their greatest contribution was surviving. As for Core Formation cultivators like Kang Wen, they would be fortunate merely to remain standing when such powers were unleashed.

Swallowing nervously, Kang Wen forced himself to look away from the impossible battlefield.

"The fortress is still ahead," he said. "Let's continue moving."

The others silently nodded.

No matter how astonishing the battle behind them became, there was nothing they could do except leave it to the immortals.

…

..

.

I stood atop one of the enormous vines and overlooked the destruction spreading beneath me.

Far below, Li Chao desperately attempted to flee.

He darted between shadows with remarkable speed, his body flickering from one dark corner to another. Unfortunately for him, the Thorn Whips had already locked onto his presence. Hundreds of thorn-covered vines pursued him relentlessly through the battlefield.

One vine finally caught his leg.

A second wrapped around his waist.

A third seized his arm.

Then dozens more descended.

Since simple death could not erase his form of immortality, I targeted the foundation sustaining his existence. The vines pierced into his body and tore apart his dantian. His Golden Core shattered under immense pressure. Moments later, his Immortal Soul was dragged from within him and ripped apart piece by piece. The vines continued their work, shredding every meridian they encountered until nothing remained intact.

Li Chao's scream echoed across the battlefield.

"Mercy! Mercy! Please! Spare me! I was wrong! I was blind! Please spare my life!"

I remained unmoved.

The vines continued their work until his cultivation foundation had been completely destroyed.

Despite my anger, I restrained myself.

The temptation to unleash my full strength remained present. With enough force, I could potentially split this domain apart and erase everything within it. The Dark Order would likely perish alongside countless mountains and forests.

That outcome held little appeal.

Such destruction would waste valuable resources and provide no guarantee that every enemy would die. A cornered enemy often possessed methods of escape.

Calming myself, I shifted my focus elsewhere.

Yuan Tao had vanished.

The old man flickered away during the chaos and disappeared beneath the endless network of vines. I expanded my senses throughout the battlefield and immediately detected numerous presences concealed behind the massive trunks and tangled roots.

"Razorjade Leaf."

The vines responded instantly. Countless jade-colored leaves burst from their surfaces. Each projectile possessed razor-sharp edges capable of severing steel. They accelerated through the battlefield like emerald comets, homing directly toward every hidden presence I had detected.

Moments later, numerous explosions erupted.

Powerful qi signatures flared into existence.

Blood and gore splattered across the vines.

Several concealed Yuan Taos died before they even had the chance to reveal themselves.

Then Yuan Tao's laughter echoed from every direction, his despair transformed into a desperate bid for supremacy. "You think this is enough, Wo Li?" his voice thundered throughout the battlefield. "I didn't survive this long by relying on luck. I won't go down so easily!"

I calmly scanned the battlefield.

"It is futile," I replied. "The more you struggle, the deeper your grave becomes."

A moment of silence followed, and then an overwhelming surge of sinister energy erupted from below.

"Dao Domain: Blasphemous Tree of Decay!"

The battlefield transformed. Huge portions of my vine network instantly withered into gray ash. Life vanished wherever the corrosive domain expanded. At the center of the phenomenon, an enormous tree burst from the earth. Its bark appeared black and rotten. Countless red eyes opened across its trunk and branches. Thousands. Perhaps tens of thousands. Every eye stared directly at me.

The moment their gazes settled upon my body, I felt decay spreading through my flesh. My skin blackened. Chunks of flesh crumbled into ash. Even my spiritual energy began deteriorating beneath the influence of the domain.

Yuan Tao had desperately cast his Dao Domain again, leaving his qi reserves rapidly depleted.

Without hesitation, I raised my staff.

"Lifepulse."

A surge of vibrant life energy erupted throughout my body. The spreading decay immediately slowed. Flesh regenerated as quickly as it deteriorated. The opposing forces entered a temporary stalemate while I studied the monstrous tree before me.

The countless crimson eyes blinked simultaneously.

The tree towered over the battlefield.

Even compared to the Spirit of the World Tree standing behind me, it possessed a comparable height. Its rotten branches stretched across the heavens while countless crimson eyes glared in my direction. Every gaze carried decay, corruption, and hatred. The surrounding land blackened wherever its influence spread.

I pointed my staff toward the monstrous tree.

"I told you," I said calmly. "It's pointless."

The instant the words left my mouth, pain erupted through my body.

My arm fell.

For a brief moment, I watched my hand still clutching the staff as it tumbled through the air. The severed limb spun end over end before beginning its descent toward the battlefield below.

A figure appeared before me.

It was Li Chao.

I immediately sensed something was wrong.

He was dead.

I had destroyed his dantian. Shattered his Golden Core. Torn apart his Immortal Soul. Reduced his cultivation foundation to nothing.

Yet he still moved.

His skin had turned pale gray. Black veins pulsed beneath rotten flesh. His eyes no longer contained life, only an endless hunger.

He was undead.

Above me, Yuan Tao emerged from the sky.

"Immortal Art: Eternal Undeath."

The old man waved his sleeve and opened a vast pocket dimension overhead. The heavens darkened, and then bodies began falling in thousands and tens of thousands.

An endless rain of corpses descended from the dimensional opening. Some wore ancient armor. Others wore tattered sect robes. Many possessed cultivation bases that had once reached Core Formation or Nascent Soul.

The moment they appeared, dark energy flooded into their remains. Rotting flesh regenerated. Eyes opened. Bone snapped back into place. Every corpse rose again as an undead servant.

I reacted immediately.

Using Nature's Stride on my falling staff, I appeared beside it and caught it with my remaining hand. At the same time, I poured quintessence into Lifepulse. Emerald light surged through my shoulder. New flesh rapidly formed as my arm regenerated.

Without slowing down, I tossed the detached arm into the air.

"Verdant Barrier."

Leaves erupted from the detached arm and burst into a powerful barrier spell around me. Roots twisted together. Ancient bark, vines, flowers, and countless forms of plant life manifested in layers around my body. Brilliant green light flowed through the defensive structure as nature qi reinforced every inch.

The undead horde collided with it moments later.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Thousands of attacks hammered the barrier, and cracks rapidly spread. Li Chao arrived at the front and drove his fist into the protective shell. The impact shattered entire layers instantly. The undead former immortal raised his arm for another strike.

Yuan Tao's voice echoed from somewhere beyond the battlefield.

"CORPSE EXPLOSION!"

Every undead surrounding me swelled grotesquely.

I felt danger immediately.

Fortunately, I had gathered enough quintessence.

I slammed my staff against the ground.

"Autumn Fall."

The world aged. Life withered. The battlefield transformed beneath the authority of autumn. Millions of Thorn Whips reaching toward the heavens instantly lost vitality. Leaves yellowed. Bark cracked. Vines shriveled. Everything around me entered a rapid decline.

The undead horde decayed even faster.

Bodies collapsed into dust before they could explode.

Li Chao struggled forward despite the overwhelming effects of the spell. His undead body continued moving through sheer stubbornness, empowered by remnants of his previous immortality.

At the same time, the Blasphemous Tree of Decay furiously resisted. Its countless eyes blazed brighter. The rotten giant greedily devoured the decaying energies around it and converted them into nourishment. Its branches expanded, and its eyes prepared to unleash another calamity.

I struck the ground a second time.

"Summer Bloom."

The world erupted with countless petals of living flame bursting into existence. They scattered across the battlefield like a burning storm. The withering energies created by Autumn Fall became fuel for Summer Bloom. Decay transformed into fire. Death transformed into destruction.

The petals engulfed everything.

Undead burned.

Rotten branches ignited.

The massive tree screamed as thousands of crimson eyes exploded one after another.

Meanwhile, I sensed Yuan Tao fleeing.

The old man was already retreating. His presence rapidly widened the distance between us. I immediately transformed. My body shrank and shifted. Feathers covered my form. Using Wild Shape, I became a falcon.

I poured a tremendous amount of quintessence into Nature's Stride.

Space blurred.

The world vanished.

An instant later, I appeared beside the fleeing Yuan Tao. The old man visibly flinched. I saw genuine fear in his eyes, along with desperation. Without hesitation, he threw dozens of talismans toward me. Lightning talismans. Fire talismans. Sealing talismans. Defensive talismans. Everything he possessed.

Above us, the Spirit of the World Tree followed closely behind, its colossal form moving through the heavens like a divine guardian.

I dispelled my Wild Shape.

My falcon body dissolved.

Silver-ivory skin emerged once more. The power of the Primal Nature Spirit flooded through me. This time, I did not retain my staff. I no longer needed it. I seized Yuan Tao's arm before he could escape. And then I struck directly at his existence.

My hand passed through flesh, qi, spirit, grasped his soul, and I pulled.

Yuan Tao's translucent soul was violently torn from his body.

The old man's eyes widened in absolute horror.

"No... no! That's impossible!" he screamed. "You can't touch souls directly! That's impossible! What are you?!"

I ignored the panic in his voice. There were many things I could accomplish in this form. Back in the game, most of them had existed only as flavor text attached to the Primal Nature Spirit transformation. Reality proved considerably more flexible.

Holding his soul firmly in my grasp, I looked directly into his terrified eyes.

"Where did you obtain the Dark Seed within your body?"

Yuan Tao froze.

The records of the Willow Order had been quite clear. Dark Seeds originated from the Abyss. They were corrupted sources of power refined through methods that should not exist in the mortal world. More importantly, only a Shén possessed the ability to create them.

That fact disturbed me greatly.

Yuan Tao's expression twisted, and then he laughed. "I'd rather die than tell you anything," he spat. "You think you've won? You know nothing."

The moment he finished speaking, something changed. His soul began withering. The edges of his spirit fragmented into gray dust. At the same time, his physical body rapidly aged. Wrinkles spread across his skin. His flesh collapsed. His bones crumbled.

Within seconds, Yuan Tao's body was reduced to ash drifting through the wind.

I stared at the disintegrating soul in my hand.

The withering continued.

My expression darkened.

Now, that didn't look good.