Ashlock gathered his forces from the Duskwalker's residence under the safety of the Bastion's supercharged spatial shield, which practically glowed with power as he routed an entire forest's worth of Qi into it.

While the Grand Elders from the Duskwalker, Mystshroud, Frostveil, and Blightbane families discussed among themselves, Ashlock noticed that one person stood out from the rest. Elysia Mystshroud was attracting attention for all the wrong reasons.

"Maple, what did you do to her, and where have you been all this time? I could have used your help." Ashlock asked the squirrel perched on one of Willow's many branches, curiously observing the humans below with his golden eyes.

"My strength is not something you have the right to wield," Maple replied, "So where I am and what I do is of no matter to you."

Those were two of the longest sentences Ashlock had heard the squirrel say to him outside the void.

"What does that mean? I know you aren't my summon, but you were able to devour the arm of an Elder from the Azure Clan who should be a league above the Lunarshade Grand Elder in strength. With just a hand wave from you, I could win this battle without difficulty!"

"If I interfere, it will only cripple you in the long term. There is only one person that is in need of my protection." Maple vanished into the void without another word.

Guessing where he went, Ashlock glanced over at Stella, and sure enough, Maple was perched on her head as she faced down multiple Star Core bounty hunters.

"Why does he speak so cryptically like some old master," Ashlock grumbled, "The longer this fight goes on, the more Qi I waste, and the higher the chance of someone I care about dying. I am also attracting far more attention than I had hoped, and there's no guarantee the Celestial Warden won't make a surprise appearance if he deems me a threat."

Ashlock watched Maple slap away a sword swing aiming for Stella's head from what appeared to be a metal cultivator, "Whatever, at least he will keep Stella safe so I can focus on things here. Though I do hope I will be able to find the useful corpses among the rubble later on."

Leaving Stella, Diana, and the Redclaws to hold off the wave of incoming bounty hunters and Larry to keep the Lunarshade Grand Elder occupied, Ashlock focused back on the Bastion and began thinking up ways to turn the tide of this chaotic battle in his favor as Maple was refusing to contribute.

"Now let's see... these two Lunarshade Elder corpses will definitely be useful." He brought them closer to Willow using telekinesis but left them just beyond the shield. The death Qi released during an Ent's creation was no joke. Targeting them and activating {Necroflora Sovereign}, he watched two thin roots slowly emerge from the black rock like snakes and slither toward the corpses.

"Wait, this is a rare opportunity for the Blightbane family to experience such a concentrated burst of death Qi." Ashlock quickly told the family to stand beyond the shield. They complied with his request and gathered around the two corpses in confusion. As that skill got to work, he wondered if there was anything else he could do, as he had fought long enough in this world of immortals wielding Qi to understand the basics of how a war should work.

One of the first lessons he learned was how important the types of Qi available in the environment were. If the giant celestial object looming in the sky, illuminating the world in moonlight, was anything to go by, the Lunarshade family were definitely at an advantage here.

If they had fought with them during the day, Ashlock was convinced that Larry alone would be enough to defeat the entire Lunarshade family. Yet under the moonlight, the Nascent Soul Cultivator could defend against Larry and Ashlock long enough for his Elders to arrive and attempt to turn the tide of the battle.

Luckily, Ashlock had a few skills in his arsenal to manipulate the environment to his advantage, but he hadn't had a chance to use them yet.

{Dimensional Overlap}, despite all its potential, had the issue of friendly fire. For example, If Ashlock had tried to summon a light pocket realm while the Bastion pinned the Lunarshade Grand Elder, the bubble of foreign light Qi would have eaten away at his void tendrils, costing a considerable amount of sacrificial credits. Then, when Larry joined the fight if he had summoned the pocket realm, it would've harmed both Larry and the Grand Elder.

There was also no point in using it now, as he had been thrown a fair distance away from the Lunarshade Grand Elder, and he would end up harming those from the Duskwalker residence who were taking shelter under the spatial shield.

So, with {Dimensional Overlap} off the table to turn the environment in his favor, the next best thing was to turn the enemy's strength into his own through {Necroflora Sovereign}, which he desperately needed to do as his people were spread too thin.

Despite his efforts to level everyone up with the Mystic Realm visits and truffles, the combined fighting power of the Ashfallen Sect and all its vassals was outmatched by the Lunarshade family, let alone the addition of the bounty hunters from the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion.

Ashlock observed as the roots went down the throats of the Lunarshade Elder's corpses and deposited the seed somewhere in their upper bodies as their lower bodies and legs had been obliterated by Geb's attack.

"This is using a similar tactic to the one we devised to deal with the beast tidedivide and conquer. Turn the enemies against themselves like a spreading rot as the more that fall, the more join my ranks." Ashlock mused as the expected wave of death Qi exploded out from the two legless corpses. The black miasma of death washed over the spatial shield, making it crackle and ripple, and he noticed the color drain from many of the weaker cultivators' faces as they huddled under the shield.

Meanwhile, the Blightbane family dropped to their knees, eyes wide open in awe. The Blightbane Grand Elder greedily breathed in the sickening miasma of death, and Ashlock saw his pupils slowly turn black like an eclipse. His nails yellowed, and he seemed to rapidly age and wither away.

"Is he dying?" Ashlock grew concerned as he saw the same happen to the others from the Blightbane family. It was as if they were perishing under some life-draining curse.

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"Are you alright, Grand Elder Blightbane?" Ashlock asked the man directly.

"Alright?" Despite his withered state, the man jumped to his feet like a spring chicken. "I am more than alright, I feel elated. Never better!" The miasma of death leaked out his mouth with every word as he frantically dashed over to the corpses and analyzed them with his eyes that appeared dyed with oil. As he jumped around the corpses, he muttered to himself, "Usually, death Qi is slowly absorbed by the land as the corpse lets go of its lingering regrets and moves on from this realm to its next life. But you pulled it out in such a brutal way that only a god should be capable of."

Ashlock did remember even Senior Lee being impressed with his Necroflora Sovereign skill. It was undoubtedly one of his more outlandish skills obtained from the system's gatcha draws.

"I wonder how he will react toah, there we go," Ashlock laughed as the Blightbane Grand Elder jumped back in fright and collapsed to his knees in reverence as the corpses rapidly grew upwards in a spiral of twisted pale white wood. Within seconds, the corpses had turned into twenty-meter-tall Ents rivaling Titus in size.

They had dome heads with eyes of white flame that stared wrathfully into the distance. A thick line of black flowers glistening with frost grew down their backs as if representing the dark side of the moon. They had long, spindly arms ending in three fingers, but unlike his other Ents, these two didn't have legs. Instead, they had many thick roots sprawling out that they could use to move slowly around.

"I suppose that's due to the corpse missing their legs," Ashlock concluded. The two Ents were both in the mid-stages of the Star Core Realm and, on his command, became wreathed in the moonlight.

"To summon such monsters from the corpses of the nonbelievers. This is the unparalleled capabilities of the All-Seeing Eye!" Elysia cried out as she kotowed and smashed her head into the floor, causing even more blood to fly from her wounds. "He can create life from death, peer into our souls, and wield power from the beyond! A true divine being!"

Ashlock felt rather embarrassed and was about to correct her but didn't get the chance as every Grand Elder from the four houses exchanged a nod and took a respectful knee. Seeing their leaders take such a stance, the rest of the Elders from each family followed suit, and soon, he had dozens of cultivators bowing toward his creations.

"Well, this is rather awkward..." Ashlock muttered but then felt a shiver run through his bark as an immense pressure passed over him back on Red Vine Peak. Switching view and looking up to the skies, he saw the golden eyes of heaven glaring down at him.

[You have been recognized as a deity by cultivators under the heavens]

Ashlock was stunned by the system message floating in his consciousness. He had created the cult and posed as a fake evil god to gather more loyal followers and perhaps spread his name under another pseudonym.

"To think it had more meaning..." Ashlock whispered as golden light danced in the night sky like a divine version of the northern lights and drifted down to his canopy. His leaves that had been burning with lilac flames as his Soul Core unleashed his power in an unrestrained manner, greedily absorbed heaven's offering.

The divine energy flowed through him like a cooling wave, washing out any impurities. With no way to store it, Ashlock directed it toward his Chaos Nebula and watched as the divine energy merged with the swirling winds already there.

[Red Vine Peak is now a land blessed with divine energy. Those on the land who revere the local deity will be favored by the heavens]

Heaven's eyes receded into the beyond, and the divine light show faded, but echoes of its presence remained on this now-blessed land. Ashlock could feel it with every breath through his leaves all the way down to his deepest roots. This land was now heaven-touched. However, the divine presence was subtle and did little more than make his offspring more lively and slightly empower his Chaos Nebula.

"I need more worshipers if I want to receive more divine energy," Ashlock now realized a new path to power. But first, he needed to keep his worshipers alive as a god was nothing without those to bow at its feet and sing praises.

***

Douglas felt Elaine's hands grasping his arm tightly as she stared out the window with a pale face. He understood her fear as he was also questioning if this would be his last day alive.

The command room and the entire city on Geb's back trembled as the thick brown shield overhead rippled and cracked under the assault of the ten Lunarshade Elders. Moonbeams blasted the shield from above alongside crescent moon slashes and moonlight-wreathed fists.

Under Douglas's command, Geb had hunkered down into the ground and greedily drained the earth dry of its Qi in a desperate attempt to power the shields long enough for Ashlock or someone to come and save them.

Earth cultivators were known for their high defense, but there were limits. Geb's Star Core had dimmed to a fading ember of its former blazing glory. The Lunarshade Elders were too close for Geb's cannon to hit them, as the Ent's head couldn't twist that far back.

"King!"

Douglas glanced at the Mudcloak standing at his feet, staring up at him with glowing blue eyes through his black and red cloak.

"What is it?"

"King should take Queen! Run!" The Mudcloak said desperately, "Leave Mudcloak behind! We defend the King."

Douglas shook his head as he steeled his heart. Even if he could run, he would not. The Mudcloaks had entrusted him with this fortress city as their King, and he had failed them.

There's no way I would leave them behind as sacrifices. If we are to die, then we will die together.

Turning on his heel, he called out to a Mudcloak, frantically hitting glowing stones on a table. "How much longer will the shield hold?"

The Mudcloak let out a shriek, "No time!"

"No time?" Douglas almost lost his footing as the whole tower swayed to the side. "Whoa."

"Careful," Elaine caught him and helped him find his footing. They looked out the window, and sure enough, the earth Qi shield shattered into a million pieces and faded into the air.

"Are we going to die?" Elaine whispered loudly into his ear as the ten bald Lunarshade Elders, wreathed in moonlight and flowing white robes, floated down toward them on swords.

Douglas clenched his teeth in grim determination, "Maybe" the words died in his throat as his whole body went cold. The feeling of looming death washed over him down to his very soul.

What the hell was that? Douglas wondered. Am I really that afraid of death that my body would react in such a way when I face it?

The ten Lunarshade Elders paused and turned in unison to look behind them. In the distance was the Bastion, the last stronghold of the Ashfallen Sect in this foreign land. Before it, two monstrosities of white wood rose up and began gathering moonlight on their dome heads.

Elaine collapsed to her knees beside him and seemed short of breath.

We weren't prepared for the wave of death Qi that comes when the immortal births one of his twisted creations. Our guard was down, and Geb's shield was destroyed.

Douglas helped Elaine to her feet, "Looks like the immortal has saved us in the nick of time."

Elaine shook her head and replied between breaths, "All he's done is draw their ire upon himself. Those two Ents won't be able to win by themselves," Her eyes flickered to the other fights happening on the horizon, "Larry is suppressing the Grand Elder, and the other key figures of Ashfallen are engaged in battle with the pavilion."

Douglas clenched his hand. She was right. This was a losing battle, but there had to be something he could do to help. "Mudcloak, get the cannon ready to fire!" He shouted to the one most capable of speech, "This time, I won't miss so badly."

The Mudcloak waddled off to fulfill his orders.

"Who will you aim at?" Elaine asked as Geb slowly rose from his turtled position.

Douglas pointed his finger toward the Lunarshade Grand Elder in the distance, wrestling with Larry. Geb turned his titanic head in the direction and slowly opened his mouth.

"I will take out their King." Douglas decided.