Reborn as a Demonic Tree

Chapter 627: Monarch Ascension

Ashlock left the meeting with brimming excitement and returned his focus to Red Vine Peak to prepare for his ascension.

"It's finally time," he mused. "I can hardly wait."

He had watched so many of his sect members step into the Monarch Realm with the help of the Eternal Realm like a proud dad, but now it was his turn to rise.

Nine Monarch souls devoured, Desolation Law finally comprehended after spending far too many centuries trapped in strange dreams, and his soul was overflowing with Qi. With the sins supposedly staying out of his way until the Era of Ascension was complete, and no other forces left on the Ninth Layer of Creation to give him trouble, this seemed like the perfect time to ascend.

Today was going to be legendary—

"Why are you rushing things, Ashlock?"

Sylva's words were like a bucket of cold water poured onto his burning excitement.

"What are you talking about?" Ashlock asked. What could he possibly be rushing?

"It hasn't been long since you defeated the Celestial Empire, and we finally met. Shouldn't we spend a few centuries getting to know one another and raising Stella before opening this layer of creation to the vultures above?"

"A few centuries?!" Ashlock mentally recoiled at the absurdity of the statement. He had been in this new world for a single decade, excluding the time spent comprehending daos in dreams. Yet, while on the cusp of ascension and receiving a domain of his own, he was being asked to wait centuries?

This felt unfair. Was it really selfish for wanting to reach the Monarch Realm for himself after all this time?

"Waiting centuries, I... can't do that," Ashlock sighed. "I may be a spirit tree, but I'm used to operating on shorter timescales. I could wait a few months, perhaps, but then I'd waste all the Qi from those in the Eternal Realm."

There was also a more prideful reason he couldn't hold out any longer. At this rate, even Douglas would outrank him in cultivation, and if he waited centuries, Jasmine and the other children would outrank him too. How could he expect to be considered the leader around here if everyone is a Monarch or higher?

"Being impatient and short-sighted can lead to unforeseen danger," Sylva continued, seemingly ignoring him. "As a spirit tree, it is our job to slowly nurture our surroundings and grow."

"Sylva, that would sound like sage advice if it wasn't coming from a World Tree that was enslaved for thousands of years," Ashlock reminded her and sighed. "Look, I see your concern. I really do. But if I sit around and do nothing, my cultivation is going to remain stagnant while everyone else shoots ahead due to the Eternal Realm, and there will come a day when I can't protect them anymore. In this world, weakness is the greatest sin of them all."

Sylva fell silent for some time, but he could feel her shifting emotions in the changing weather. The problem was, her perspective wasn't wrong per se. Centuries was overkill, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to wait a year or two to give the Ashfallen Empire time to breathe, hunt down the sins, and have a few sect members reach the Sovereign of Realities Realm.

Unfortunately, there was one factor besides his own eagerness to rise in power and not be left behind that made waiting around foolish. He had not assimilated the conceptual dao of Pride yet, and it was slowly fading from his system's grasp.

Conceptual daos weren't like other daos. Water could be stored and the secrets hidden within studied at any time. Same with wind, earth, fire, metal, spatial, and the other more typical Qi types that made up reality.

But Pride didn't have a physical form, it was more of a fleeting emotion captured like lightning in a bottle. If he waited too long to assimilate it, he would be left studying a faded echo rather than what had given the Sin of Pride the strength to imprison Stella.

That was a power he wasn't willing to give up.

"Sylva, I'm doing this for myself, but also for Stella and our future. Please... I need your support in this. But if you adamantly disapprove, I'm willing to wait."

He wanted Sylva to know he respected her opinion and wasn't opposing her. Even if he disagreed with her outlook, he needed the World Tree's full support to survive this ascension and the future.

It wasn't until the sun sat high in the sky and it was noon that Sylva finally gave her answer.

"Fine. I will support you. Despite the risks, I can see the benefits of your ascension. After all, you conquered the Celestial Empire and freed me despite being in the Nascent Soul Realm." Her attention shifted to the sky above. "I can only pray for the fools who fall into your jaws once the rift is formed."

Ashlock followed her gaze. "Do you think they will come down here once the Era of Ascension begins?"

"Only the weaklings. The strong will have no interest in this barren land."

That was what he had suspected as well. The Qi down here was so thin that someone at the Sovereign of Realities Realm would struggle to manifest their full strength, and their soul might even suffocate due to the lack of Qi. If all he had to fear were curious Monarchs coming through the rift to inspect the lower realm, then he had nothing to worry about in the short term.

"Timing will be tight, but hopefully Stella or someone will be able to step into the Sovereign of Realities Realm before the true powerhouses of the next layer catch wind of my existence. Though I always have Nyxalia and Maple as fail-safes if one were to show up."

"It seems you are a little more prepared than I thought," Sylva admitted.

Ashlock chuckled. "Despite being a spirit tree, my plans are often a little more rushed than I'd like. But I think that's one of my advantages. Cultivators are used to events taking decades, while I get things done far quicker."

Of course, his element of surprise was mostly thanks to his system. Techniques that should have taken generations to revise and evolve were learned in an instant; the Eternal Realm allowed his sect members to explode in strength, and the pills made from his fruits were miracles.

"Not that I can blame these cultivators. Nobody expects the element of surprise from a spirit tree."

The air trembled as Sylva unexpectedly burst out laughing. Catching Ashlock off guard, her laughter washed away the underlying tenseness of their discussion. Ashlock found himself joining in despite thinking his joke wasn't that funny, and the two enjoyed a laugh together.

"Phew, that was funny," Sylva said after calming down.

"It really wasn't," Ashlock muttered. "But I'm just glad we could have a laugh before the ascension, as this is bound to be painful for both of us."

"That it will be," Sylva agreed. "The Heavens will not be going easy on you."

"How long did your ascension take?" Ashlock asked.

"A month, I believe."

"Really, a month?" Ashlock said, but wasn't totally surprised. It had taken him a week to ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm, so for it to take a month to reach the Monarch Realm seemed reasonable.

"Forming an Inner World takes a long time and a lot of divine energy from the heavenly lightning. However, you already have one, so all you need to create is a domain. So long as it's not too complicated, it might take you less than a month."

A complicated Domain would take longer. Ashlock had a bad feeling...

"System, how long do you estimate my ascension will take?"

[To forge a Domain that appropriately incorporates all your Laws and the conceptual dao of Pride, a sustained tribulation and hibernation of six months is estimated]

Six months. Not one month, six. His system was rarely wrong, so he believed it was necessary. But as the World Tree had mentioned, he didn't even have an Inner World he needed to form. That was six months for his Domain alone.

Ashlock laughed at how ridiculous it was.

"What happened?" Sylva asked him, sounding concerned at his seemingly random outburst of laughter.

"I think... mine might take longer than a month," Ashlock chuckled. "I'll have to spend the time hibernating too."

"That's normal for a spirit tree. I slept through my ascension too," Sylva mused. "Though is the reason you think it will take longer than a month because of the Era of Ascension?"

"Mhm, something like that," Ashlock said, not wanting to admit his system's existence. Partly because it would be too hard to explain, but also because Sylva was far stronger than him right now. Should she have a problem with his system's existence, it would get messy.

"Then I will hibernate too. See you on the other side," Sylva said, and Ashlock felt her focus shift away.

Left alone, looking across the sparkling expanse of the World Tree's canopy, Ashlock mentally reaffirmed his decision. Now was the time.

"System, turn the Worldborne Sanctuary's shields on."

Power rippled out of his soul and through his ethereal roots into Red Vine Peak and the greater Sanctuary below. Domes of shields, with the outermost layers specialized against divine energy, formed over the major population centers.

Before slumbering, Sylva added her own protection to the mix as her canopy shimmered with Qi and her leaves curled up to form a tighter barrier that also drowned the lower world in darkness.

It was going to be a long six months of darkness and roaring thunder.

Content with the preparations, Ashlock opened a small hole in the top of his own shield as, without the divine lightning striking his soul, there was no hope of him forming his Domain.

"Now for my own protection if things go terribly wrong while I'm hibernating," Ashlock called upon Bob and Larry, and they came through portals he manifested.

"Welcome, you two."

"Father!"

"Master. What is it you need from your humble servants?" Larry asked gruffly.

"I know this is a tall ask, but if the heavens look like they are going to wipe me out, please use your own bodies to take some of the strikes. However, do not interfere unless you are sure I'm on the brink of death. Understood?"

"As you wish, Master," Larry said.

"Yes, Father," Bob rippled happily in response to his order. Or was it because he was hungry?

"No... that can't be it."

Bob was currently a blinding ball of light, meaning he had feasted on some powerful light cultivators recently. Ashlock cast a sideways glance at the Luminarch Conclave spires that had seemed rather quiet lately.

Whatever, that didn't matter right now.

"I'll see you both in six months," Ashlock informed them. "System, begin the ascension."

[Warning: Initiating Monarch Realm ascension will trigger the Era of Ascension, opening the skies to the next layer of creation. The heavens will respond with the strongest tribulation ever recorded against a Nascent Soul cultivator. Casualties across the ninth layer of creation could be catastrophic. Have you completed the preparations?]

"I have. Proceed."

He took a deep breath as he felt his system take the lead. Yet, nothing could have prepared Ashlock for what happened next. A cloud of golden eyes didn't appear to strike him down, nor did thunder rumble and divine lightning crackle overhead.

His dormant Crown of the Withered Sovereign slowly creaked open, tearing a wound into his shield, until it was fully extended like an open palm. His Soul Cosmos then fractured, and his entire Inner World was torn from his body by an invisible hand and thrust out into the open.

The world he had nurtured, with its mountains, rivers, oceans, and Stella's home, was brought out into the open at its full scale. It utterly dwarfed him, shrouding the entirety of Red Vine Peak in its shadow in an instant and bathing the surroundings in his unrestrained spiritual pressure. It rotated, ensuring the Divine Flesh Tree housing his system and the sacrificial credit forest were most defended.

"Master..." Larry muttered, and seemed speechless.

Ashlock was as well. He hadn't anticipated this at all.

"Larry, when you sense anyone leaving the Eternal Realm, move in to assist them in escaping the heavenly lightning," Ashlock quickly explained. "While a bolt of heavenly lightning shouldn't be enough to kill them, I have no idea how intense it will be."

Larry nodded. "I will protect them with my life."

"Good. Also tell Stella I'm sorry about her house. I'm not sure it's going to survive this..."

[Beginning Monarch Realm ascension and Era of Ascension]

As if initiating a challenge, his Crown of the Withered Sovereign crackled with power and used his exposed Inner World as a medium to shoot a spiraling beam of desolation Qi and divine energy into the sky.

For one long breath, nothing happened.

[The Heavens have verified your Demi-Divine status and accepted your challenge. The tribulation will now begin]

Ashlock didn't like the sound of that, and he was right to worry.

The sky broke.

It didn't crack like ice or part like clouds. The heavens simply split—a single searing seam tearing open from one edge of the horizon to the other, as though his beam had been drawn across the roof of the world.

To the mortals below, they would only feel the shift in reality and know something had gone terribly wrong deep in their bones. But for Ashlock, his Gaze of the Tree God allowed him to see beyond the veil and peer upon the raw underside of the next layer of creation.

It gazed back.

"It's uglier than I imagined," Ashlock mused.

The seam widened, and from within it, eyes began to open by the hundreds, then the thousands, blooming across the fracture like rot spreading through fruit, each one fixing on the small, defiant tree that had dared to angle its canopy toward a realm it had no business reaching. That tree just so happened to be him.

Ashlock felt the weight of their attention settle over Red Vine Peak, patient and enormous, and understood in that moment exactly what his system had meant by strongest ever recorded.

The heavens weren't testing him. By the power gathering overhead, they were trying to erase the very idea of him.

A boom that sounded like the end of the world exploded from above, followed by a literal wall of divine lightning bolts descending, each one thick as his trunk and carrying the power to raze a city.

Pain tore through Ashlock's being as many of the strikes hit his Inner World, vaporizing mountains, boiling the ocean, and turning the desert into molten glass. He held on for an hour, rallying his own Qi to fight back, but this wasn't a fight at all.

It was utter destruction.

[Soul Forest triggered]

Ashlock mentally screamed even as the pain was distributed to his offspring. If he had to endure any more of this, he was going to break.

[Hibernation initiated. Remaining time: 182 days, 23 hours]

The nine moons appeared in the sky overhead, bathing him in their light and dulling his senses. Yet, he wasn't sent to sleep like he expected. Instead, he was presented with what he assumed were the beginnings of his Domain.

A black star.