Root Maker: Tree Cultivation

Year 10, Day 33

The Fire Cloud approached quickly, with Namis' help and assistance, Leaf and Root managed to make a cover of Water Qi surrounding their entire little village! This process took about 3 hours of hard work, and by the end the crispy air had turned more damp and wet. In the eyes of the spirits who had [Spirit Sight], there was this faint blue glow surrounding them everywhere, where this wave of red qi would slam against and fade, unable to penetrate through. "Uh…" Sighing after they were done, Namis groaned softly and promptly fell asleep! Meanwhile, Fiero and his lesser siblings were out of the barrier of Water Qi, cultivating. Alongside them, under their protection, was the little Fire Cultivator by the name Yan Zhun, who was also cultivating for the first time! 

That's what Root taught them- How to cultivate. He called the Nature Cultivation Root kid named Hui Yang, who cultivated with her back to his trunk with the technique he modified and gave them, a very basic cultivation technique. 

Literally. 

[Basic Cultivation Technique 

Rank: F

Description: Gather Qi from around you into your meridian, cultivating. This technique is one of the most basic forms of cultivating, only gathering the Qi that resonates with the Cultivation Root of the user of this technique.]

See? Root gave all three cultivators this technique, Yan Zhun, Hui Yang, and Zhu Tei- The most interesting one was Zhu Tei! Because his cultivation root was [Spirit], he did not draw qi from the world around into his body, but instead, his Cultivation Root produced a higher amount of Spirit Qi, which it fed into the world around him before bringing itself back into Zhu Tei's soul with 'nutrients' for his soul, that was the Qi around him. He did not absorb the qi, he burned it away and transformed it into Spirit Qi inside his soul, which slowed down his cultivation a lot. If the other kids were crawling centimeters, he wasn't even moving yet. Root did analyze how Zhu Tei's soul did that and was able to imitate such a thing, being able to convert and also produce and use Spirit Qi to his heart's content. 

It was honestly amazing. His [Twilight Qi Conversion Technique] went from rank A to rank S in an instant too. His [Nature Qi Conversion] also vanished, both getting fused into one single technique. 

[Heavenly Qi Conversion Technique 

Rank: S

Description: Due to your understanding of the Dao of Transformation, you can now convert Qi into other forms of Qi found anywhere, as long as you have a basic understanding of what that Qi is. You can also easily turn and change Qi from your surrounding to suit your needs, storing it for later use if necessary- With this technique you can turn Nature Qi into Fire Qi, Water Qi, Earth Qi, Wind Qi, Ice Qi, Lightning Qi, Poison Qi, Death Qi, Life Qi, Sun Qi, Moon Qi, Light Qi, and Dark Qi. The conversion rate is quick and not wasteful.]

[Your understanding of the Daos of: Spirit and Transformation have increased by 4%]

[Dao of Spirit: 5%]

[Dao of Transformation: 5%]

'Was this Dao shit supposed to be hard?' Is it because he has a great understanding of concepts of the modern world? Like, thermodynamics? That Shit is something almost Eldritch in nature, after all. 'Huh, maybe that's why.' What Root didn't know was that due to his body (aka: Spirit Tree), he could understand the concepts of Nature and Spirit easier, the Transformation Dao came from himself, which was kinda impressive. The heavens watched and deemed him worthy, so they "helped" him understand the Daos easier. Helped in doing absolutely the bare minimum of giving him a small insight on the essence of what Nature, Transformation, and Spirit are.

"Now, children-" Root was about to praise his son Leaf for helping him when he felt a powerful presence approaching, surrounded by many weaker presences, but in no way weaker than him. "-Fiero, bring everyone here, now!" The higher half of his tree body was bathing into the flames that were coming from the heavens, making Root burn but also absorb the Fire Qi into himself easily. "Into the barrier, now." Yan Zhun was dragged inside by Fiero alongside the small Fire Lesser Spirits. Faster than he thought they would arrive, Root felt them lightly touch the barrier of Water Qi that surrounded and protected the mortals and his weaker children. Many of the weaker lesser nature spirits burned alive, but many still survived without serious damage to their forms. Without even being invited inside, Root felt as a bunch of cultivators entered his domain. They all felt warm like the sun, he could easily tell they were Fire Cultivators. 

'The weakest of them is Qi Gathering, Stage 4?' Meaning the weakest of them was stronger than the majority of his children, only Leaf was stronger than the little child before him. The cultivators all walked arrogantly forward, and Root remembered why he hated Cultivation Novels so fucking much- "Look Elder, a fire Spirit!" A young man with fiery red hair held in his hands a small salamander made out of flames: "It's a lesser one. It's been a decade since I've last seen one!" The salamander tried to escape the grasp of the cultivator, but it was weak and could not do so- Root felt its distress, he felt how Fiero got angry at one of his siblings being bullied, so he went forth to rescue the little one. "Hey, you!" Root had no time to stop him, he was already there. "Let my little brother go right now." Well, if anything, the faces the cultivators made were comically hilarious. 

"E-elder!" Even the really old looking old man was stunned- They just stared at Fiero as if they had seen the rarest thing in the face of this world! "...a Fire Spirit." It's common knowledge amongst cultivators that Qi itself can create life! They are called spirits, and they are rare beings that can turn other types of Qi into their own Qi type. A water spirit can turn other Qis into water qi, so of course a Fire Spirit can turn other types of qi into Fire Qi! This was why they were so excited- A Fire Spirit can be an asset for their sect, for their family, because with a Fire Spirit, one of their own would be able to cultivate anywhere as long as they make a spiritual contract!

A Spiritual Contract is when a cultivator and a spirit make a contract where the Spirit will share their qi with the cultivator to help them increase their power, help them in combat, and much more, while the cultivator has to do the same… That is what it is supposed to be, but of course many have bent and changed these types of contracts, essentially making the contracted Spirit into their slaves. 

"Elder, please allow me to make a contract with this spirit." One of them spoke, breaking away their shock and making all the others look at their Elder with shining eyes- This was an opportunity that they could not waste! A Fire Spirit!? For a spirit to be born, it is necessary at least years of Qi being in a single place, which was very hard for Fire Qi to do, since its nature is to roam through the skys now. "Silence." The Elder Flareburn spoke, making them all close their mouths: "Let us discuss this with this child's father." There was confusion amongst the cultivators before a pressure befell them, making them all freeze. 

It was a cold, cruel pressure of pure qi. It felt almost crushing, it felt like a tidal wave, like gravity increased a thousand times- Before it vanished. "So you're discussing taking my child from me, before my very eyes." And before them appeared a beautiful Nature Spirit. Everyone there couldn't help but feel fear- including the Elder -because of his appearance. "...an ancient nature spirit."

'...what?' Root thought to himself, his face cold as he kept pulling the qi from the air into his body and converting it into Spirit Qi, so he could keep his form as physical as it could be, unknowingly creating a pressure that affected the souls of the cultivators, and in turn, making them think he was much stronger than he is right now. The Elder bowed in respect, saying: "Great ancient spirit, we're sorry for disturbing you, we shall leave your forest alongside our Fire Cloud." Root decided to just go with it, if he plays his cards right, he can get rid of them! His eyes narrowed as he looked into the sky, his face clearly annoyed: "So you think you can enter my home, threaten one of my children, and leave? You're courting death!" Internally cringing and crying, Root looked angrily at the cultivators. 

"Please understand, Great Ancestor, this one is but a child, he does not understand what he says." The Elder placed his hand on top of the head of the one who said he wanted to make a contract with Fiero, making the man bow. "We're deeply sorry for disturbing you." 

Root pulled more and more qi into his form and converting it into spirit qi, as he could feel his form was going to fade. He got a ping from his system saying something about a new technique, but he ignored it in favor of pretending: "Go. Leave right now before I change my mind and decide to make one of your children my slave." The Elder bowed again, this time all of the cultivators did, before they ran with their tails between their legs. 'Now… what was that?'

[Soul Pressure

Rank: A

Description: Using Spirit Qi, you can create a pressure on your opponent's very soul, making them feel intimidated. The more Spirit Qi you use, the stronger your soul is, and the greater your mental strength is, the greater the pressure upon your opponent's soul.]

'Oh… that's why they ran.' He reincarnated, clearly his soul was stronger than the normal soul, and he has endured such great pain that he got a skill to S Rank, of course his mental strength was enormous! And Spirit Qi? He was making so much of it that there was still a lot of it in the atmosphere around him, so much so that he had Zhu Tei cultivate after the other cultivators left with their arrogance. 'Well, deception worked… For how long will it do so?' He didn't know, and he didn't like that he didn't know. 

"Children." Root, tired from overusing his soul, said: "I'll be asleep for one single year… Your objective is to cultivate, cultivate and grow strong, protect the mortals and keep them alive. Any other mortals that wish to join us must make a promise upon the eyes and witness of the heavens that they'll be loyal to the Heavenly Spirit Forest Sect." Root could feel himself fading into unconscious glee: "And remember, family comes first." He resisted sleep, only activating his skill [Hibernation] once a whole day had passed and the Fire Cloud had left. But after that? He fell into deep, deep sleep.

Beneath a Fire Cloud 

"E-elder, I'm sorry, please forgive me." Huy Yon, the one who proposed a contract with the Fire Spirit, bowed and begged for his Elder's forgiveness. "I didn't know a powerful Ancient Nature Spirit would be there, and that the Fire Spirit was his child."

"Ancestor Spirit." The elder corrected him: "It was an Ancestor Spirit… A spirit of his power is able to shape their surroundings to their liking, and judging by the fact that he could make Fire Spirits, it means he can use Fire Qi." Slowly, the Elder raised his hand, blue flames licked the skin and tip of his fingers as he pointed them towards the man: "You offended perhaps the only one in this side of this world that would be able to help us settle in one place and stop wandering the world, being able to focus on our cultivation…" 

Jy-Hyung closed the eyes of Little Wei with his hands, as once someone did for him, so the little boy only could hear the thud of the now headless corpse of the once Huy Yon as it fell onto the ground. 

There will always be more children in the future with Fire Qi Cultivation Roots, but they can't see a future where they can stop wandering the world, chasing a cloud. And perhaps their only chance was taken from them by the arrogant Huy Yon, who might have just doomed them permanently… What if in the future they aren't allowed to even cross the Demonic Plains and go after their cloud? He hopes it doesn't come to that.

[Status]

Name: Root

Species: Spirit Tree

Cultivation Root: Nature [Heavenly Pure Quality]

Age: 110 years

Qi Realm: Core Formation (2nd Stage)

Special Achievements: 

[Crafter]

[Death Conqueror]

[Contract? Deal!]

Daos - 

[Spirit] - 5%

[Transformation] - 5%

[Nature] - 1%

Skills - 

F RANK: [Flower Make]

F RANK: [Silk Make]

E RANK: [Hibernation]

D RANK: [Wood Make]

A RANK: [Seed Make]

S RANK: [Purification]

S RANK: [Pain Resistance]

Techniques - 

F RANK: [Tree Breathing Technique]

C RANK: [Natural Healing]

B RANK: [Mycorrhizal Network]

B RANK: [Root of Knowledge]

A RANK: [Soul Pressure]

A RANK: [Cosmic Connection]

S RANK: [Heavenly Qi Conversion Conversion]

Sect - Heavenly Spirit Forest Sect

Great Ancestor: Root [Core Formation (2nd Stage)]

Sect Master (Nature Branch Master): Leaf [Qi Gathering (5th Stage)]

Unnamed Lesser Nature Spirit (×12,876,870)

Members: 

Death Branch Master: Lily [Qi Gathering (4th Stage)]

Unnamed Lesser Death Spirits (×522)

Earth Branch Master: Ahteus [Qi Gathering (3rd Stage)]

Unnamed Lesser Earth Spirits (×330)

Wind Branch Master: Zylph [Qi Gathering (2nd Stage)]

Unnamed Lesser Wind Spirits (×234)

Fire Branch Master: Fiero [Qi Gathering (1st Stage)]

Unnamed Lesser Fire Spirits (×98)

Sister [Qi Gathering (N/A)]

Water Branch Master: Namis [Qi Gathering (1st Stage)]

Unnamed Lesser Water Spirits (×44)

Inventory - 

SSS Rank: Tea of Heaven (Recipe)

A Rank: Return Pill

B Rank: Alchemy for Dummies

Trash: Worthless Stone Blade