Root Maker: Tree Cultivation

Mortal P.O.V:

"You." A single word echoed upon their very soul, a word they knew well. "You and children shall serve the Heavenly Spirit Forest Sect, for as long as I exist, so will your servitude." He couldn't help but release a sigh of relief- Tales have been passed down generation by generation of great calamities brought down by Cultivators and how ruthless and dangerous they were if provoked or triggered. Zhou Yun hoped that he and his village could survive, but servitude to a cultivator sect? That was better than the other alternatives of starving to death in the drought or being eaten alive by Demonic Beasts. As the grand voice vanished from his mind, his eyes couldn't help but find the leader of these spirits, spirits which he has only heard tales of. "Father has granted your sentence. Rejoice, mortals, for never again shall you face hunger serving the Great Heavenly Spirit Forest Sect, it shall be the greatest thing you've ever done in your pathetic lives." The green spirit floated away, as did the silver haired woman and the black haired woman, leaving behind only the stout earth man, who wielded a large hammer. "So, you punks will live where we allow you to, and serve my pops with all your ability." As he walked away, he turned towards them, annoyed: "Are you coming or not!?" 

They all followed, and along the way they saw these beings of beautiful and mysterious sights- The forest around them was lush with life and spirits, even their mortal bodies could feel the Qi in the air, as it made them feel relaxed. "This-" The earth man raised his large hammer, before slamming it down. Walls raised, the ground flattened, and vines started to grow as a large two stories tall home raised before their eyes. It was such a mystical sight that many couldn't help but gasp in surprise! "-Is where you'll be staying. Ciao" They turned to look at where the earth man was, only to see that he no longer was there, instead they all heard a voice in their heads: "You shall rest today, tomorrow, I want every single one of you ready to follow my children and obey." 

Now, you might be asking yourself: Why servants? Have the lesser spirits be the servants! And let me tell you this: Every single child is above mortals. 'Wait, where did that come from?' Root was taken aback by this random thought that came to mind, when did he become such an asshole to his fellow humans? From the moment he realized he was human no more, but instead, something higher, better, stronger, bigger than mortals. 'Oh no, the cultivator mindset has settled in-' He didn't want his lesser children to be servants, even if they're completely useless. Another reason? Manipulation. He wants his sect to be powerful so it can defend itself, so he thought about something: Humans. They're practically useless, but they also have a small chance of being useful, being born with some form of Cultivation Root! He wants to find a young cultivator and indoctrinate them, groom them, make them completely loyal to his sect. 

And the best way?

Well, that is easy- Find someone in complete despair, and be their god! As for example, mortals. Amongst these mortals, he saw a few children, he wanted to see if they had any Cultivation Roots so he could get them, separate them from their parents, and convert them into a loyal subject to his sect. Of course his children will be the most powerful of his sect, but having many powerful people in his sect? That's something he wants, no, he needs. Cultivators are naturally greedy things, and here he is, a being who can create pure cultivation resources and can't run away or hide (Maybe hide, he'll have to try) from them. So what does he do? Fight back! So he decided to gather as much power as he could. And this here is his chance of having a bunch of people who can have children, can spread, and have many children that will probably or possibly have Roots for cultivating! 

See? He's thinking ahead! Years, decades ahead, sure, but he is thinking! 

So, as the night drew near, he watched the mortals through the eyes of his lesser children. One of the mortal kids did not sleep inside the large cube for a house they were put on to just protect them from the elements, instead the little girl watched the small floating green deer with wide eyes. Root didn't care much about mortals unless they were of use to him, and the children were just smaller mortals. He watched them and at the same time, he cultivated and spread out his Qi through the forest, at each pulse of Nature Qi, the lush nature around him increased in size and greenery. 

Year 10, Day 21

"Gather, mortals, for my father shall judge you." Leaf floated before the mortals- 50 of them. About 15 children, 5 teenagers, 20 adults, and about 10 old people. His father was more interested in the children, for the children were very easily manipulated! The teenagers could also be manipulated with the right actions. "Children and teenagers to one side, adults and olders to the other." Following his words, the mortals walked and were separated by age- The children hesitated to go to one side, until the teenagers followed Leaf's orders. The adults and old ones went to the other side too, but Roots wanted to first try out and see what types of roots these kids could have.

"Come Little Children." His father's voice echoed, the mortals trembled at the sheer force of his father's voice, but they complied. Leaf had the work of asking the mortals about what they could do so their skill could be used for the best of the sect. "Let's get this over with…" 

While Leaf was doing that, Ahteus was guiding the kids into a stone platform before Root, where the children would step forward and Root would look into their bodies to find the Cultivation Root and see the quality of it. To see such a thing, he used his own Nature Qi to scan their bodies! '...none.' He ticked Ahteus to move the kid from the platform and go to the next one, which happened to be the little girl who watched the spirits while the others dreamed. 'Let's see…' He peered into her body and found a small bud deep within her soul, it was a Cultivation Root! 

[Cultivation Root detected]

[Hui Yang has entered your sect]

[Show Status?]

'Yes.'

[Status]

Name: Hui Yang

Species: Human

Cultivation Root: Nature [Trash Quality]

Age: 6 Years

Qi Realm: N/A

Techniques -

'Well, better than nothing.' Huffing, Root said directly to Ahteus' mind: "The girl is useful, send her to the right and continue with the others down the line." Ahteus nodded and motioned the girl to go to the right side, contrary to the others who had been able to go to the left side. "She has potential to cultivate." Was all Ahteus said, making the teens who had a loose idea of what this meant both surprised and excited about the possibility of them attaining power from legends. Of the kids, only another boy had a Cultivation Root-

[Status]

Name: Yan Zhun

Species: Human

Cultivation Root: Fire [Trash Quality]

Age: 6 Years

Qi Realm: N/A

Techniques -

'Another one huh?' He was lucky again, he could use his [Purification] skill on them and increase their Cultivation Root's quality over time to make sure they can grow as cultivators. For the girl he can provide her with Qi, for the boy? He's going to be a little bit tricky unless he makes another child using Fire Qi and with that child's help, he can make the boy cultivate… Soon, the teens were up for their check. The oldest of them was 16, while the youngest was 13, and there were 5 of them! He checked every single one, and in the end, only one of them had a Cultivation Root- He was the oldest of them.

[Status]

Name: Zhu Tei

Species: Human

Cultivation Root: Spirit [Trash Quality]

Age: 16 Years

Qi Realm: N/A

Techniques -

'What?' Instantly, everything was put on a hold- A Spirit Cultivator? From all of the Qis that Root found in nature, Spirit Qi was not one of them. Spirit Qi comes from one's own soul- So how come can a cultivator use Spirit Qi to cultivate? Do they have to cultivate their own Spirit Qi or do they cultivate the Spirit Qi from others? 'This is something I must know-' If Spirit Qi is rare (As far as he has looked, he hasn't found Spirit Qi nowhere but on his soul) imagine Spirit Qi cultivators! "You." He said directly to the teenager's, Zhu Tei, mind: "Come closer." He would be useful or completely useless in the future, it all comes down to his talent. 

All for the betterment of his family.

All for his family.

"Y-yes, Immortal?" The kid stuttered while taking a step forward, Root sent a message to all the others who were tested and had no Cultivation Roots, telling them to go back. The two kids and the single teen left behind were the only ones who had any talent for cultivation! "You are a rarity I've yet to see… Join my sect and become a cultivator." He pondered for a moment, maybe he could make this child his own? But for that he'd need to fully integrate him into his cult- I mean, into his cultivation sect! Yes, that. "I… Immortal-" Everyone was calling him that thanks to whatever culture they had, every cultivator was called immortal by mortals. "-is it true that I can cultivate?"

"Are you telling my pops is a liar?" Ahteus huffed, his crystal eyes glistening with a red light for a split second: "Of course not, I mean no insult by my words!" Zhu Tei bowed, sweat running down his brows: "Is that just… Cultivation at my age? From all the stories I've heard, Immortals only took the children who had potential to cultivate, never the adults." Ah, right. Because this is an ancient world, people probably are considered adults at different ages too right? If he considers himself an adult, either he is lying or he is an adult by this world's culture's eyes. "You are a rare find… I will make you a cultivator." Root decided- What type of cultivator could a Spirit Cultivator become? He really wants to know! 

Root also had to think- Is it better to look down on mortals, ignore them completely, or get attached to them? The last option was the most foolish, while the second was the one he was inclined to focus on. But why did he help these mortals? For his sect's future! Although he can make as many children as he wants, he knows that humans will feel greed for his treasures, so why not have a frontline of humans to kill each other while his children protect him and watch from afar? 'Is that too cruel? I don't want my children in danger, so having humans die in their place is a much better option.' Is it evil of him? He doesn't think so. He only sees himself as a father who would do everything in their power to protect his children.

Even use others and do "evil" things.

See? Two reasons why he wants humans in his sect- Servants (Because his children, no matter how will, will never be servants) and meat shields (because he'd rather have humans die than his own children). 

Another reason why he might have mortals around is that they have children- Children who have the possibility of maybe having Cultivation Roots, which adds more meat shields to his future. Everyone knows that humans have a way of spreading, and in maybe a few decades they'll have more than tripled in quantity! 

Year 10, Day 22

As it turns out, there were a few mortals that had jobs- their village was destroyed by a beast tide, when a bunch of Demonic Beasts attacked their home together, bringing death and destruction -and the jobs the adults had were farmer, fisherman, lumberjack, weaver, baker, midwife, carpenter, and guard. 

With his help, Leaf managed to assign mortals to teach the young their works, while the old folk told their stories of old times long gone. 

Root had plans for these mortals, a kingdom would be born of them, with him at the top as its ruler. Of course this kingdom is for the safety of his children- If the world isn't safe for his children, what type of father would he be if he didn't work to make it safe?