Stella approached the swirling wall of mist that obscured Red Vine Peak from the outside world.

From afar, all that was visible apart from the mist wall was Ashlock, who towered over the entire mountain peak. However, to most, his appearance was shrouded in mystery by a constant crackling of spatial Qi that warped his image. His true form was only visible to those attuned to spatial distortions and could see past his facade. To others, he just looked like...

"What is that massive tree?" Jasmine said in awe, "It's so big."

Jasmine couldn't see the thousands of brightly colored fruits hanging from his branches nor the cocoon of silver ash that would give birth to a nightmarish creature. If his otherwordly eye was open, it would also be hidden from the external world. Ash only showed his true self to people he trusted or those bound by oaths of loyalty.

Stella glanced down at Jasmine. She still had that little white flower nestled behind her ear and poking out of her pale green hair.

I wonder if Ash would kill them if they refused to sign the oath? Stella shook her head. It seemed unlikely, but life wouldn't be pretty for them.

"We are about to enter Red Vine Peak. The home of the Immortal." Stella said sternly. "To enter here is a privilege few receive. I hope you understand that once we cross this mist wall, you will be expected to devote yourselves to the Ashfallen Sect?"

Catherine, who had darker green hair than her daughter and a kind gaze, gave Stella a thin smile, "Forgive my earlier indecisiveness; it was just a lot to take in. We as a family are ready to give our all to the Ashfallen Sect."

"Good," Stella nodded as she directed the flying sword to crest the mist wall. She didn't want to see these two eaten alive today, so their devotion was appreciated. As they passed through a thin veil of spatial Qi, which made the world briefly wobble, the true colors of the mountain peak were revealed. "You asked what that massive tree was, right? The Immortal cultivates below its roots, and he planted it to look after me."

It was an easy-to-understand and hard-to-disprove lie, so Stella kept rolling with it. People will find it hard to respect or take orders from the spirit tree, but if they believe an Immortal is cultivating in a cave below for centuries at a time, they won't question his words.

"Those fruits look familiar," Catherine said as she squinted at the many bundles of fruits growing from Ashlock's vast branches. "Didn't they appear on the shadow spirit's tree earlier?"

"Some of them did," Stella nodded as she steered the sword toward the giant hole that dominated the center of the mountain peak, "They have miraculous effects that make cultivation a breeze. If you become friends with the shadow spirit, I am sure she will share some of her fruit with you."

"We are already best friends." Jasmine grinned.

Stella wondered if she had found her soul mate. Who would have thought there was another person willing to become friends with a tree? "I'm sure you are," Stella ruffled her hair, "Trees love it when you speak to them as they get lonely, so make sure to visit her every day."

"Okay." Jasmine bobbed her head with determination.

Stella released her hand from the girl's head as the sword touched down at the hole's edge. After the mother and daughter also hesitantly hopped off, she absorbed the giant sword into her spatial ring and inserted Qi into the formation at her feet.

"We will take this floating platform across the citadel to reach Kaida."

Jasmine bounded on like an excited rabbit, while Catherine seemed less assured.

"Can we fall off this?" Catherine asked as the disc glowed and floated toward the monolith that rose through the citadel's core.

"I'm not actually sure," Stella tapped her chin, "Want to test it, Jasmine?"

Jasmine glanced over the edge and gulped, "Um."

"Do you trust me?" Stella crouched down to be at eye level with her.

Jasmine hesitantly nodded.

"Try running off the side. I promise that I will catch you."

"Promise?"

"Absolutely. Fall as far as you like, I will catch you."

"No, wait, Jaz" Catherine tried to grab her daughter's shoulder, but the girl had already sprinted off the side.

Stella glanced over the side with her arms crossed as she watched Jasmine rapidly gain speed. The girl's screams drew the attention of the many Mudcloaks making their way up and down the spiral staircase between their abodes.

Catherine had a look of absolute horror on her face and seemed too stunned to utter a word.

Stella felt her lip curl up into a smile. I know the Redclaws are loyal to me, but it's because of the oath they took. But for such a young girl, Jasmine trusted me enough to hurl herself off a floating platform into a hole that goes down for thousands of meters without a second thought. She put her life in my hands without being oath-bound to do so.

This is what Stella had been looking for. Another sect member like Diana, who respected her and was loyal without an oath. A person she could have a genuine friendship with rather than one mandated and forced by the heavens. Catherine and Julian, on the other hand, seemed like respectable folks, but Stella didn't trust them without an oath.

Ash had pushed her to make friends and take on apprentices to share her knowledge with, such as Kane Azurecrest and the Redclaw twins Oliver and Olivia. But she disliked how one-sided and fake the relationship was, so she distanced herself from them. Douglas was the same, though I have warmed up to him more. He's not such a bad guy; he just has a loud mouth and likes to argue. Elaine is also a nice person. She didn't have to spend her illusion Qi to give me pleasant dreams, yet she did it anyway.

"Mistress Stella!" Catherine collapsed to her knees at her side and tugged on her trouser leg, "Please save Jaz. I will do anything..."

This woman is hopeless. She will never make a good cultivator if she's willing to throw herself to her knees and beg at every opportunity. Stella sighed as she spread her spiritual sense to lock onto Jasmine, who had fallen about halfway. Snapping her fingers, a portal formed, and a screaming Jasmine fell upon Catherine, who caught her daughter with a grunt. To be safe, Stella had slowed Jasmine down with telekinesis, so they were both being dramatic.

"See? She is fine." Stella didn't understand why this woman was so flustered all the time. It was just a little fun, that was all. And a secret test of trust that Jasmine passed with flying colors, but Catherine failed.

Catherine ignored Stella as she was busy hugging Jasmine a little too tight, "Oh, thank the realms you are safe, Jaz. I thought you were gone."

Stella clicked her tongue. Are all mothers like this? Would my mother protect me nonsensically like this, too? The image of a massive golden tree reaching for the heavens appeared in her mind, and Stella couldn't see how she would receive the same mothering.

Maybe I am the weird one?

"Stella, please don't tell children to jump off floating platforms,"Ashlock's presence bloomed in her consciousness.

"Why not?" Stella mentally replied to the tree in her mind, "She trusted me to catch her, so she made the jump. I didn't force her to do anything."

"You knew the platform had no protective barrier around it," Ashlock refuted, "Why did you even ask her to test it?"

Stella smiled, "To test the loyalty of my future disciple, of course."

"You want to take Jasmine on as a disciple? Why? You're only sixteen. Can you really take care of such a young disciple? She's like eight or something and in the first stage of the Qi Realm."

"When has age ever held me back? If I can reach this realm of power at this age, then so can Jasmine, so long as we support her with truffles and fruit." Stella huffed in annoyance, "And that's not important. To be a good teacher, you need knowledge and strength, both of which I have. I am almost on par with the Redclaw Grand Elder, who rules over an entire family, and I have more knowledge than anyone due to my bloodline."

"But you just told her to jump down an eight thousand-meter hole..."

"Are you questioning my teaching methods?" Stella smirked, "How about we make a bet, Tree? I will have Jasmine reach the Star Core realm before she is ten."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"You want her to progress through eighteen stages and two entire realms in two years? When will you even have time to nurture her? Once my roots reach the Tainted Cloud Sect, you and Diana will spend a lot of time as bounty hunters, right? We need to sell pills so poor Ryker doesn't lose his inheritance, and we need to find more information about your Father and the World Tree."

"She can join us." Stella said dismissively as the floating platform drew close to the monolith, "And why would that matter? Your roots make crossing vast distances instantaneous, right? I can teach her in between missions."

"Fine. I will admit this does sound interesting, and I am curious what Jasmine would become under your tutelage. However, rushing to Star Core could lead to an unstable foundation. How about I admit you win if Jasmine can beat Amber in a duel?"

"Amber? Is that the Redclaw girl that reached Star Core recently?"

"Yes, she is considered the Redclaw family's prodigy and seems driven to improve. I don't care about the time limit, but if Jasmine can beat Amber in a duel, I accept that you could take on a disciple."

Stella glanced back at Ashlock, who towered over them in the distance. "Quite a steep demand, don't you think? Cultivation is one thing, but teaching such a young child how to fight is another thing altogether. Amber is impressive in her own right and a decade older."

"Hey, you are the one who said age doesn't matter when it comes to cultivating. I set the standards so high because I believe you can meet them, and I want you to take this seriously." Ashlock replied, "You have a habit of picking up a new profession or idea and losing interest. If you are going to train Jasmine, I want you to train her to become the next pillar of the sect."

Stella turned to Jasmine, still being hugged tightly by her mother. The girl stared back with warm yellow eyes that contained no hate. Only excitement. She was clearly trying to wiggle her way out of her mother's tight embrace but could not escape. They were both basically mortals, so the mother had more strength.

But that would change very soon if you become my disciple.

"Just one last thing before I agree. You know a disciple isn't a pet, right? You can't raise Jasmine just to use her to do your bidding while you lay around like a cat all day. That is the attitude of a bad and lazy Master."

Stella froze. "Who do you take me for? I would never think that way."

How did he know? Agh, get out of my head.

"Fine, if she agrees to be your disciple, the bet is on. Train Jasmine to the Star Core Realm and have her win against Amber in a duel, and I will agree that you are the best master a disciple could wish for."

Stella grinned as she stared down at her future pet... err... Disciple. For some reason, the idea of Ashlock admitting she was the best at something filled her with anticipation more than anything had before.

Now, I just have to convince Jasmine that I am the best Master she could wish for.

***

Jasmine's heart, which had only slightly calmed down from the thrill of falling to her death, began pounding again as she was stared down by the Mistress. Although Stella looked younger than her Mom, her gaze was far more frightening.

"Mistress Stella," Jasmine said as respectfully as she could. It was the tone of voice her Dad had taught her to use when he had people from the Voidmind residence come to visit.

"Yes?"

Jasmine found it hard to tell what Stella was thinking, but she had a burning question. "What were all those little people that cheered me on as I fell?"

"Little people? Oh, you mean the ones living down in the citadel?" Stella crouched down to meet her height. "Those little guys are called the Mudcloaks. Do you want to meet them?"

The sunlight made Stella's blonde hair glow like the heavens, but her pink eyes that seemed to curl up into a smile sent shudders down Jasmine's spine. Not even the feral dogs at the weekend market that tried to bite off her hand as she walked past were this scary!

"Are... are the Mudcloaks humans? Like me?" Jasmine stuttered, "They looked like children wearing black cloaks."

"No. The citadel is a city of monsters that live to serve the Ashfallen Sect. Your house was built by them." Stella stood up as the platform came to a stop. "You can meet them later, but for now, it's time to meet Kaida."

She told me to jump into a city of monsters? Jasmine's eyes widened. That's so cool.

"How horrible," Mom hissed into her ear as her hug tightened, "Are all cultivators so cruel? My poor Jaz almost died in a hole of monsters."

"Mom, I'm fine, really." Jasmine squirmed out of her mother's loving grip and offered her a hand, "Come on, Mom, aren't you excited to meet Kaida and become important to the sect like Dad?"

Jasmine saw pain in her Mom's eyes as she hesitantly took her hand.

"Hurry up, you two. I don't have all day," Mistress Stella waved at them near the entrance to the black stone building.

Don't be sad, Mom. Jasmine thought as she squeezed her mother's hand and led her. I know you two dislike cultivators. So when I get strong, I can protect you and Dad from the other mean cultivators and save others!

Jasmine had seen the fate of mortals. Her exhausted Dad would come home daily and rant at the dinner table about how cultivators treated him like trash. But the worst of all were apparently the mortal servants of the Voidmind residence. They could boss Dad around because they served the cultivators even though they were also mortals. Dad sometimes went on for hours about how much he hated them until Mom eventually calmed him down.

Lost in her thoughts, Jasmine walked over to Stella with her Mom in tow. The large entrance led into a short hallway lined on either side by shockingly realistic statues. The two closest were two imposing menone was dressed from head to toe in a beige suit and looked like a shady businessman, while the other was a dignified man with a stern expression and red hair.

"Mistress Stella, who are these people?" Jasmine asked and wondered if they would come to life and start moving.

"These are the core members of the Ashfallen Sect. The brown-haired man to your left is Douglas Terraforge, the ruler of the citadel and those Mudcloaks you met earlier. While on the right is the Redclaw Grand Elder." Stella's voice echoed through the hall because she was a few steps up ahead. She paused before a giant spider with a crown of horns, "This is Larry, the Immortal's pet that has been known to wipe out entire noble families."

Jasmine felt her Mom freeze in place, "That thing... is real?"

"Yeah, you might even meet him one day, though this is how he looked when he was weaker." Stella shrugged, "If something like this scares you, you are not fit for this life. Cultivators fear monsters like these, but we fear each other more."

Can a spider really be that big? Jasmine felt her legs go wobbly at the thought. The largest spider she had ever seen was no more than the size of her palm, and she had a small hand it had been dangling overhead when she woke up one morning, and she still had nightmares about it. Not that she would admit that to anyone. It was silly.

"The pink-haired woman is Elaine. She's great, and of course, you have Diana at the far end, who you met earlier, and then there's..." Stella paused before a statue of herself, and as Jasmine came to stand beside her, she saw a deep frown on her face. "I swear I don't look like that."

Jasmine looked between Stella and the statue and could see almost no difference. It was as if she were standing before a mirror.

"What do you think, Jasmine?" Stella asked her, "Do we look the same?"

Jasmine felt it down to her bones that there was a correct answer. Or was this a test? Should she lie? No, Mom always told me to tell the truth.

"Um," Jasmine gulped under Stella's glare, "I can't see a difference other than the squirrel you are holding in the statue."

"Is that so?" Stella reached down and roughly ruffled her hair. She smiled, but it did not put Jasmine at ease.

Mom was wrong. I think I should have lied. Was it because I mentioned the squirrel?

Jasmine combed her hair out of her eyes as Stella freed her from the ruffling and walked over to the grand doorway with a giant stone snake head above it with gemstone eyes that stared down at them as if judging. Stella seemed unfazed by the snake head as she effortlessly pushed the dark wood doors aside, revealing an expansive space beyond.

"Kaida! Where are you?" Stella shouted as she strode in like she owned the place. Jasmine took more cautious steps as this place felt important. Much like the tree outside, a beautiful tree grew from a lake of ink. Its scarlet canopy occupied a hole in the roof, casting the whole room in an eerie red hue.

And the sudden ripples on the ink lake weren't helping.

"Oh, there you are, Kaida," Stella scratched the back of her head, "Sorry if I woke you up. Diana was busy, so I brought these two here for employment contracts? Ash told me you would know what those were."

Why is she talking to the lake? Jasmine found Stella funny sometimes. That amusement faded as the lake parted, and something emerged. It was a snake as black as ink, only discernable from the darkness by two golden eyes that gleamed with keen intellect and curiosity.

The monster loomed overhead as its serpentine body coiled upwards and almost reached the ceiling. Strange markings were carved into its hardened scales like a tapestry of a forgotten language that gleamed as if wet from the lake. But Jasmine soon realized the snake was made of ink, not simply drenched in it.

"Stop hissing at me and get down here," Stella crossed her arms and tapped her foot in annoyance, "The sooner you do your job, the faster I will be out of here. Fair deal?"

Jasmine tensed up as the giant ink snake that could swallow someone whole dipped its head closer to Stella. Yet, instead of doing anything, it simply let out a low hiss before passing the blonde girl to the far wall covered in books.

With one of its short arms ending in three claws, the snake grabbed a stack of parchments nestled between a few books and a block of wood. It then dumped the parchments in Stella's hands and went to dip the block of wood in the lake.

"Kaida, if these blow up in my face, I am throwing you through a portal."

The snake let out what could only be described as an amused snort as it twisted its body back toward Stella with the block of wood now drenched in ink. Kaida gestured for Stella to put the parchments on the floor, and once she dropped them, the snake followed up by pressing the block down to print words on two of the parchments. Putting the block away, the snake's claw glowed with a heavenly gold as he wrote a sentence at the top of one of them. He was about to do the other when Stella tapped his arm.

"Wait a second," Stella strode over to Jasmine and crouched before her. Her gaze no longer had that hint of insanity that made Jasmine uncomfortable. It was calm and determined. "You can sign the contract written in heavenly ink and have your loyalty be bound by the heavens to the Ashfallen Sect like your Mother and Father, or you could take a different route."

Stella stretched out her hand as if wanting her to take it, "Become my disciple. It's a type of relationship that transcends oath-bound loyalty. I will become your Master and teacher. As one of the Elders of this sect, I need a disciple, and you fit all the qualities I have been looking for. I will train you personally in the art of cultivation and war."

"Jaz!" Mom shouted and gripped her shoulders, "Think about this deeply. Swearing yourself as a disciple to a cultivator is a big deal. Do you really want this person as a Master? Once you agree, there's no going back until death do you part."

"Is that even a question?" Jasmine reached out her hand, "The Mistress saved us, blessed us with cultivation, and is the daughter of an Immortal. If anyone should be my Master, it should be her. Also... she's really cool."

Jasmine held Stella's hand and wasn't sure what else to do, so to confirm her intentions, she put on a big smile for her new Master, as Dad always told her to do when meeting new people. "I would love to be your disciple."

A power washed over Jasmine as if the sky was watching. A strange link formed between their hands, and even when they let go, Jasmine could feel a connection to her new Master.

Through the connection, she could always tell where Stella was as the direction she stood in felt warm, and she could sense her mood. Her Master was beyond thrilled about something.

"I'm cool?" Stella muttered in disbelief. She then looked to the sky, "Hey Ash, did you hear that? Jasmine thinks I'm cool."

Jasmine gave a weary smile. I have picked an odd Master, haven't I?