Immortal Druid

I sat cross-legged atop Zhen Ai's forehead while she soared through the clouds in her true draconic form. Her immense dragon body undulated gracefully through the sky, every sapphire scale reflecting the sunlight like polished gemstones. Wherever she flew, the surrounding qi yielded before her, parting and weaving together into a stable current that stretched far behind us like an invisible road.

Xuanwu followed close behind in his Turtle Snake form. Xing Mei sat comfortably atop his broad shell while a murder of crows trailed after them, gliding effortlessly along the qi current Zhen Ai continuously created. Earlier, I had offered everyone the chance to ride upon either Zhen Ai or Xuanwu, yet every crow had politely refused. They claimed the qi left behind by a true dragon had transformed into something purer, something they could refine while flying. Old Crow merely watched them without objection, allowing his kin to cultivate as they pleased. Since none of them appeared to be exaggerating, I chose not to interfere.

A familiar voice echoed inside my mind through sound transmission.

"My Lord... I still cannot understand it. How could the Heavenly Domain Sect willingly support the Four Sovereign Flags? How could they threaten the peace of this continent simply to satisfy themselves?"

I rested one hand upon one of her smooth scales before answering.

"Greedy people always find ways to become even greedier."

She remained silent for a brief moment before replying.

"I already knew that."

I chuckled quietly.

"Sorry. What were you expecting me to say?"

Her enormous body continued gliding through the skies without slowing.

She had nearly become one of the Heavenly Domain Sect's tools herself. There was no need to remind her what kind of people they truly were. Some wounds did not need to be reopened simply because they had never fully healed.

"Forgive me, My Lord," she said softly. "I never wished to question your judgment. I merely... wished to voice my anger."

I gazed toward the distant horizon where countless mountain peaks pierced the clouds.

"You'll have plenty of chances to vent it. We're going to fight the Heavenly Domain Sect's cultivators soon."

Her body visibly stiffened.

"What?"

"I already saw it through the Heavenly Eye."

Silence lingered between us before I continued.

"The reason I brought you with me wasn't merely because you can carry us across great distances. I brought you because it's time you overcame your fear of them."

Although she had never admitted it aloud, I already knew.

Whenever she returned to her human form, the Voice of the World allowed me to hear the whispers carried by everything around her. Even her clothes spoke. They whispered about restless nights, trembling dreams, and invisible fears that clung to her long after she woke. I had listened countless times while pretending not to hear. Truthfully, I simply hadn't known what to do. We didn't exactly have a therapist living inside the sect, and forcing someone to confront their trauma head-on sounded like the worst possible solution.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Eye had shown me another future.

A future where she faced them not as prey, but as a dragon.

"When the time comes," I said firmly, "don't hold anything back. Vent your anger. Unleash your wrath upon them. Revenge may not solve everything, but it can become the balm that lets you keep walking afterward."

I leaned forward slightly.

"Turn right. Then circle back to this exact location."

"Understood."

Without hesitation, Zhen Ai veered gracefully through the heavens. Her colossal body carved a wide arc across the sky before returning toward the meadow we had just crossed.

Another voice entered my thoughts.

"Sage?" Xing Mei asked curiously. "What exactly are we doing?"

"Be patient," I answered. "We're preparing a trap for our enemies."

The Heavenly Eye had revealed a chance encounter waiting ahead.

A scouting party from the Heavenly Domain Sect would soon pass through this very region. Whether they intended to gather intelligence or launch a probing attack against the Renewal Sect or the Touch Grass Sect hardly mattered. They would find only the battlefield I prepared for them.

As Zhen Ai completed the circle, I slowly rose to my feet atop her head. The rushing wind tugged at my robes while I planted my staff firmly before me.

Golden fire gathered above its tip.

The surrounding temperature climbed rapidly.

I poured mana into the spell as I raised it to the sky.

"Sunblaze Inferno."

An enormous sphere of blazing fire materialized high above us. It swelled larger and larger until it resembled a miniature sun suspended in the sky, radiating overwhelming heat across the surrounding landscape.

With a swing of my staff, I released it.

The blazing sphere descended upon the meadows below.

The earth erupted into an ocean of flames.

Grass blackened instantly.

Shrubs withered before bursting into fire.

Heat distorted the air while waves of scorching wind rolled outward in every direction.

"Zhen Ai," I called. "Breathe your flames into the inferno."

"Yes, My Lord!"

She opened her enormous jaws.

A torrent of brilliant azure dragon fire crashed into the burning meadow.

The two infernos merged into a single devastating sea of destruction, consuming everything within their reach. Pillars of flame stretched toward the heavens while thick smoke rose high enough to be seen from dozens of kilometers away.

Only after carefully observing the spread of the fire did I finally nod.

"That's enough. Stop."

Her flames ceased immediately.

The meadow below had become a blazing wasteland.

I turned toward both divine beasts.

"Xuanwu. Zhen Ai. Help me bring the rain."

I raised my staff once more.

"Control Weather."

Dark clouds gathered with astonishing speed, swallowing the clear blue sky.

At the same time, I reached outward with Hydrokinesis, drawing moisture from the surrounding atmosphere and forcing it into the newborn storm. Zhen Ai's draconic qi merged with my own while Xuanwu's calm, profound qi reinforced the gathering clouds.

The storm expanded far beyond what I could have achieved alone.

As expected of a true dragon and someone I had named after one of Earth's divine beasts.

The first droplets began falling.

"Good," I said. "Now, both of you, control the rain gently."

Neither of them questioned the order.

The rainfall steadily intensified, yet every drop descended with deliberate precision rather than violent force. The flames hissed beneath the growing downpour as steam billowed upward, transforming the scorched meadow into a field cloaked in thick white mist.

It was exactly as I had envisioned.

I extended my hand, the storage ring upon my finger shimmering faintly. At my command, thousands of seeds poured from the ring like a shower of rain, scattering across the charred earth below. Before gravity could claim them completely, I reached out with Phytokinesis, wrapping each tiny seed in verdant life. Every one of them greedily absorbed my power, their dormant vitality awakening long before they ever touched the ground.

"Zhen Ai," I said through sound transmission, "drop me in the middle of the destruction we created."

"As you wish, My Lord."

She descended in a slow spiral, her immense body lowering until we hovered just above the blackened meadow. The moment we reached the right height, I stepped off her forehead.

Rather than plummeting, I drifted downward with Nature's Stride, the world itself softening my descent. My boots landed gently upon the burnt earth, surrounded by ash and the lingering scent of smoke.

I planted my staff firmly into the ground.

"Lifepulse."

A brilliant emerald wave erupted beneath my feet.

Back in Legacy World Online, the flavor text for Lifepulse had described it as a spell designed to preserve life, one commonly employed by druids to nurture gardens and restore dying ecosystems. It had sounded poetic back then.

Now, standing within a world where magic truly breathed, I finally understood why.

The scorched earth answered as I slowly unleashed quintessence upon them.

I poured Phytokinesis into the countless seeds buried beneath the ash while adjusting Control Weather, parting the dense clouds overhead. Shafts of warm sunlight pierced through the lingering mist, bathing the ruined meadow in golden radiance.

This was nothing compared to raising an entire island from the seabed.

The amount of quintessence required was laughably small by comparison.

I released another torrent of power into the earth.

Roots spread.

Sprouts emerged.

Life answered life.

The ground rippled beneath my feet as thousands upon thousands of young plants erupted from the soil. Saplings stretched skyward with impossible speed while vines crawled across the earth, weaving together into a thriving undergrowth. Bushes blossomed. Flowers opened their petals toward the returning sunlight. Towering trees thickened with every passing heartbeat until a flourishing forest stood where a lifeless wasteland had existed mere moments ago.

I couldn't help smiling.

"Maybe I should call this... Forest Creation."

I'd wanted to create my own spells for quite some time.

Unfortunately, every original spell I imagined ultimately fell short of the countless abilities I already possessed. Why reinvent a wheel that rolled perfectly?

This spell, however, felt different.

Forest Creation borrowed its principles from Island Creation, the improvised spell I'd once used to raise an island from beneath the sea. Like its predecessor, it was horribly inefficient. It consumed far more power than practical spellcraft ever should.

Still...

Unlike an island, this forest continuously empowered a druid. The inefficiency suddenly became worthwhile. Soon, the Voice of the World filled my ears.

"We're alive!"

"How warm..."

"The sunlight feels wonderful!"

"So many brothers and sisters!"

"Is this... a forest?"

"Daddy made us!"

"Daddy!"

"Daddy!"

I blinked.

"...Why does that one already know what a daddy is?"

No one answered. It was probably for the best. I exhaled quietly before speaking through sound transmission.

"Everyone, come down here."

Moments later, Xing Mei descended gracefully from the sky, landing effortlessly atop one of the tallest branches. Her eyes slowly swept across the flourishing woodland.

"Sage... this entire forest appeared in only a few moments?"

Zhen Ai and Xuanwu landed nearby before returning to their human forms. Their robes shifted naturally alongside their transformations without so much as a wrinkle. The enchanted garments had been woven from materials containing their own hair and essence before being imbued with the Willow Order's sorcery, allowing them to fit seamlessly regardless of which form they assumed.

The murder of crows descended next.

They perched throughout the newly grown trees, black feathers contrasting beautifully against the vibrant canopy.

"As expected of Sage Wo Li!"

"Creating forests is nothing for the Sage!"

"Long live Sage Wo Li!"

"Our Sage is invincible!"

"Enough!" Old Crow barked. "Stop embarrassing yourselves. Behave."

The younger crows immediately quieted, though several continued muttering under their breath.

Beneath every perched crow, its shadow writhed independently. Each Shadow Elemental twisted silently within the shade, their amorphous bodies constantly shifting like living darkness.

The crows themselves had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, save for Old Crow, who had already entered Core Formation.

Their companions were another matter entirely.

Shadow Elementals possessed bizarre strength. Depending on the amount of darkness surrounding them, their power fluctuated between Core Formation and Nascent Soul. Unfortunately, they also possessed an obvious weakness. Once pinned down beneath overwhelming light, they rapidly weakened.

Against ordinary cultivators, that weakness hardly mattered.

Against the Heavenly Domain Sect...? Foundation Establishment cultivators would simply become cannon fodder.

I looked around at everyone gathered beneath the trees.

"Our enemies consist of roughly a small army of Core Formation puppets, around a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators, four elite Soul Formation experts... And one Immortal."

The forest became deathly quiet, and then the complaints began.

"Caw... we're doomed."

"Can we fly home instead?"

"I suddenly remembered I left worms unattended."

"That sounds like certain death."

Xing Mei folded her arms.

"Sage, our situation appears rather bleak."

I nodded calmly.

"Ordinarily, yes."

I pointed toward the shadows beneath every tree.

"The Shadow Elementals reach their greatest strength during the night and become weakest beneath broad daylight. Even this forest's shade should strengthen them somewhat..."

I glanced upward through the dense canopy.

"Better yet... we can simply turn this place into night."

My gaze settled upon Old Crow.

"Can your murder accomplish that?"

They fell quiet, and then every crow burst into loud cawing laughter.

"He really asked!"

"What an idiot!"

"Does the Sage think we control the sun?"

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"

I rubbed my forehead.

Why did the animal kingdom possess so little respect for me?

They really were a strange bunch.

Old Crow spread his wings sharply.

"Quiet!"

The laughter ceased almost instantly.

He turned toward me.

"Hao Lei once taught us an illusion formation intended for retreat and escape. Lady Nyx later improved it. Rather than merely concealing ourselves, the formation now creates an endless maze... and transforms day into night. You are correct, Sage. We can transform the day into night!"

That was considerably more useful than I'd expected.

Shadow Elementals lacked the intelligence necessary for constructing sophisticated formations. The crows, however, excelled at it. Their numbers far exceeded those of our human allies, and their tiny bodies allowed them to hide throughout a battlefield while maintaining countless formation anchors without exposing themselves.

Anyone trapped inside would be forced to navigate the maze itself.

Destroying the formation would become nearly impossible.

I slowly nodded.

"Good."

I looked around at every member of our force.

"This isn't going to be a battle."

My grip tightened around my staff.

"It's going to be a hunt."

My voice hardened.

"And I won't forgive a single death on our side."

Every expression grew solemn. Under the cover of eternal night, every Shadow Elemental would maintain at least Nascent Soul strength. That alone shifted the battlefield dramatically.

I pointed toward the crows.

"Stay close to your Shadow Elementals at all times. Let your cultivation fool the enemy. Make them believe you're nothing more than weak Foundation Establishment cultivators. Once they commit..."

A faint smile crossed my lips.

"Your partners will show them their mistake."

I turned toward my three strongest companions.

"Zhen Ai. Xuanwu. Xing Mei."

All three met my gaze.

"You'll be responsible for drawing their attention. Taunt them. Pressure them. Make them focus entirely on you."

Finally, I rested my staff across my shoulder.

"As for the Immortal...?"

I smiled.

"Leave that one to me."