Ashlock felt a surge of pain through the tether with Larry and also through his {Devour}'s vines. The swirling dome of ash that had contracted around the Evergreen cultivator suddenly began to glow red hot as if trying to contain a star.

"Is the Evergreen guy going supernova?" Ashlock wondered, and his mind raced for a solution. At such a close range, would his trunk even survive? Would Stella and Diana perish?

Maybe they could escape down the root into the mine below and survive. But there was also a chance the cultivator wasn't in the Star Core realm.

He didn't know the cultivator's strength, but it wasn't looking favorable, as he could make an educated guess if he considered how easily Larry dealt with Soul Fire realm cultivators in the past.

He had assumed Larry's strength as a B-grade summon was somewhere around the upper end of the Soul Fire realm or perhaps even the early stage of the Star Core realm.

So considering Larry hadn't eaten the guy yet, he was definitely a strong opponent.

The dome of ash continued to brighten, and then suddenly, the ash exploded outwards in a wave, and a column of green fire erupted over twenty meters into the air.

"What is that!" Stella shouted and began to dash toward the column of fire, "Is that a Star Core cultivator?"

Ashlock wanted to shout at them to come back. Why were they running toward the guy? Are they insane?

Diana seemed a bit more apprehensive about charging toward a Star Core cultivator as she stood in place for a second, watching the demonstration of power.

Still, she soon followed, with mist pouring from her back like a cape and a sword held firm in her hand.

"Should be with that volume of soul fire. I think I saw the spider going up to deal with someone that had jumped the wall." Diana said as she caught up to Stella.

Ashlock watched the two girls jump onto the wall, and they saw Larry and the intruder there. To his surprise, they rushed to Larry's side without hesitation and stood on either side of the behemoth.

The spider Ashlock knew they had found so creepy was almost unrecognizable due to its severe injuries. Half of Larry's face had been melted to the bone after the latest explosion, and only two of his eyes seemed functional.

Yet even in such a state, Larry refused to let go of his prey and still had a fang impaled through the man's flame-covered fist.

Larry was dying. He could feel it through the tether. Only pure rage and hatred were fueling the beast and keeping it alive.

"Stella Crestfallen, I can recognize those features of the Crestfallen clan anywhere." The man of pure green flames spoke seriously and turned his head to look at Ashlock, "I had no idea another of your family survived. A hidden prodigy? An elder that was busy tempering his foundation?"

The man then snapped Larry's fang by twisting his hand, causing the spider to whimper, and then gripped Larry's face and hurled him toward Ashlock. The spider crashed into the tree with a sickening crunch, and his legs slumped as if he was dead.

[Ashen Prince {Larry} wishes to evolve]

[Yes/No]

It would appear that eating a few cultivators before fighting with the Evergreen cultivator had given Larry enough Qi to evolve into an A-grade monster.

Naturally, Ashlock pressed Yes. Allowing a summon to evolve took none of his Qi or credits.

A thin line of silk emerged from Larry, and he lethargically wrapped himself to begin his evolution. From last time, Ashlock knew he would get a prompt to select Larry's next evolution path once the cocoon was finished, but it could take hours at this rate.

So Larry was out of the fight. That just left himself, Stella, Diana, his zombies, and Maplewait, where was Maple? Ashlock looked around with his spirit sight but couldn't find the bugger anywhere.

"Did he run away? Surely notwe have a mutual pact of coexistence." So where was he? Sure, the pact didn't explicitly say Maple had to save him, but it seemed the right thing to do...

[Commencing upgrade to Star Core Realm: 90%]

Ashlock was distracted from his search for the darn squirrel by a notification about his ascension, followed by the entire mountain trembling once again.

The Star Core, which had been endlessly expanding as the heavens poured thousands of lightning bolts into it, began to shrink as if an invisible force was squashing it.

The dark clouds swirled as if affected by the gravity of the Star Core, and the heavens only escalated their assault, with the golden lightning ramping up in its ferocity.

Ashlock had feared that the Evergreen cultivator would fight with Stella and Dianabut insteadthe man turned his back on them as if they were mere insects.

Neither attacked the man's exposed back as the fierce green flames kept them at bay.

The man hopped down from the roof and began to walk through the central courtyard. He didn't even glance at the corpses on the ground mummified by black vines, and the three zombies Ashlock had managed to raise were obliterated with a single punch.

Stella and Diana had hopped down from the wall and cautiously stayed near the edge of the central courtyard. Ashlock could hear them silently discussing a battle plan with gestures only they seemed to understand, but they didn't seem optimistic about its potential success.

The difference between realms was simply too high. Despite not even being in the Star Core realm yet, just looking at the density of the Qi from his forming Star Core, Ashlock could estimate it to be over a hundred times greater than his old Soul Core.

As the man walked across the courtyard, Ashlock tried to cast {Devour} on him again, but the vines coated in his 9th-stage Soul Fire Qi couldn't even get close and simply disintegrated and flattened by the intense gravity surrounding the man.

"He must be burning his Qi reserves at a stupidly high rate to maintain that column of fire..." Ashlock thought to himself. Was there a way to distract or slow him down?

The man's eyes which had been glued to the rapidly shrinking Star Core overhead, flickered between Ashlock's branches as if he was searching for something.

"Don't want to show yourself?" The man mocked. "Then I'll help myself to the fruits of your labor."

The man raised a hand, and a tendril of green Qi shot out and snaked through Ashlock's branches before latching onto his forming Star Core.

[WARNING: Star Core ascension unstable]

Ashlock could feel himself being drained. It was a bizarre feeling, but the Star Core was a literal manifestation of his soul. So to have someone siphon his soul was naturally horrific.

[WARNING: Soul integrity at 99% impending risk of memory loss and soul death]

What the fuck! Ashlock cast {Devour} at the man repeatedly, but his flames only became more fierce. They couldn't even get within a meter of the guy before disintegrating.

[WARNING...]

Ashlock drowned out the notifications and cried out in his mind. "Someone help me! What the fuck, where is Maple!"

Had he put too much trust in his allies? What were they doing?

Mist filled the courtyard, likely from Diana, and those haunting shadows reappeared.

Ashlock had thought this technique was rather overpowered before... but now watching the mist, unable to get near the Evergreen cultivator, and the man easily tracking Diana through the mist made him reevaluate what was powerful in this world.

What chance did a mid-stage Soul Fire realm cultivator have in the face of overwhelming might? The man's mere presence exerted so much gravity on his surroundings that Ashlock doubted Diana could even swing a sword at his necklet alone his intense green flames that incinerated anything that got too close.

It seemed almost hopeless. Was he going to die here? Sucked to death by some Evergreen bastard?

"Leave Tree alone!" A lone female voice grabbed the man's attention.

Stella stood before Ashlock's trunk with a sword held firmly in both handscoated in purple flames and lightning arcing along its surface. Her expression was grim, and Ashlock could tell her Qi was nearly depleted from the flames' flickering.

"No, run! Leave me!" Ashlock cried out. He was convinced that no matter what, he could regrow from the ashes and rise again, but if Stella died, there was no coming back. He had already experienced seeing her corpse and thinking she was dead. Never again. He didn't want to experience it again.

Ashlock had no idea what her plan was until she had got the man's full attention, and a shiver ran down Ashlock's spine.

Stella's two eyes became swirling abysses, and the Evergreen cultivator immediately canceled his siphoning of Ashlock's Star Core.

[Star Core ascension stable]

[Commencing upgrade to Star Core Realm: 91%]

The Evergreen cultivator seemed clearly affected as his green flames faltered. He immediately bolted at Stella and punched at her stomachwhich she blocked with the hilt of her swordbut was still sent flying back into Ashlock. Luckily, the half-dead Larry cushioned her fall but caused the spider to whimper.

Stella coughed violently, and blood spewed from her mouth, but she wiped it away with the back of her hand and glared at the man of green flames that strode toward her. "I was always interested in that artifactI heard rumors about it from my brothers. Eye of the demon they called it, a rather fitting name after experiencing its power."

"S-stay back!" Stella shouted, raising her sword with shaking hands and trying to distract the man from Diana, who was approaching from behind.

"Stella, you told me to leave Tree alone?" The Evergreen cultivator casually backhanded Diana and sent her flying into one of the walls of the central courtyardnot even breaking his stride. "Is it the tree that is ascending? A tree with spatial Qi?"

Stella spat blood to the side, "As if I would tell a bastard like you."

The man chuckled, "Rich coming from an orphan. Just tell me, and maybe ill spare you... for the patriarch, of course."

Stella remained dead silent, so the man let out a long sigh. His flames died down to a normal level, and he brought out a sword from his spatial ring.

Was his Qi finally running out? Ashlock did have one trump card remaining but had been waiting for the perfect moment to use it.

"A shame." The man sighed as he raised the sword up above his head.

Stella shuffled back with her sword still held out, but she clearly had little fight left. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye as she gritted her teeth and hissed, "This is goodbye, Tree."

Ashlock ignored her. This was not the end. He would never let death befall his lifelong friend again if he could help it.

***

"I am short on time, so I will end it here." Tristan's sword felt heavy and cold in his hand as he raised it above his head.

His Star Core was running on fumes, and the Qi in the air was too thin due to the forming Star Core overhead, so he struggled to regenerate fast enough.

Killing Stella Crestfallen was less than ideal as the patriarch may ask questions, but he needed to remove all the obstacles in the courtyard so he could ascend to the 2nd stage of the Star Core in peace.

Other elders may arrive soon with the Star Core avoiding the supernova stage and now condensing. He simply didn't have the time to entertain others.

He looked down at the girl. Her blonde hair was haphazardly covering her face, and purple bloodlikely from the spider corpse she rested ondyed her white clothes. Nevertheless, he somewhat admired the look of determination on her face.

But that just made the anticipation of the kill that much more pleasurable.

To snuff out the life of someone destined for great things so early on was one of his life's pride and joys. He licked his slips as the euphoria rushed through him. He was superior. The girl knew that and waited for her death at his hands.

This was what cultivation of the demonic path was all about. Crush those beneath to rise to a new height. It was all part of heaven's will. To devour, conquer and rule others. Reach and become the apex.

To be the ultimate predator in human form. That was the path he had chosen. A lonely road to the top littered with corpses, blood, and broken promises.

Tristan sneered as the girl tried to shuffle away, and he spiritually sensed the other girl pushing herself out of the hole in the wall behind him. It had been but a moment, but the superiority he felt was undeniable.

He was the executionerthe decider of their fate.

But then he heard a crack.

His eyes naturally followed the noise. It was coming from the trunk of the tree. Its smooth glossy black surface trembled and split apart. Intrigued by what may lie beyond, Tristan kept watching the spectacle. He had never seen a tree open up before, after all...

What he saw beyond the crack was black. It was not darkness caused by a lack of light but rather an unfathomable abyss. It was deep and endless but not empty. Something resided in the abyss.

An eyemany eyes. All looking at him with alien curiosity. He felt enchanted by their depth and hidden insight. It was as if they had gazed upon the stars, seen universal tyrants' birth and extinction.

He was totally enthralled. He wanted to know what they knew. See what they saw. He took a step forward and then another. The eyes watched his every move as if inviting him in.

He felt a sudden pain in his chest but ignored it. What was a little pain compared to the salvation and wisdom into the divine that these eyes could provide him? They were so peaceful and calmuntil they weren't.

They turned ferocious. Savage. A primal rage that seemed directed at his very soul. Had he angered them somehow? Finally, he couldn't endure their scrutiny and looked awaydown at his feet.

His foot was planted on the chest of a girl he recognized who looked up at him with those same eyesones of an abyss.

He shuddered.

Why was it so cold?

The girl grinned. He followed her gaze and saw a metal blade with blood trickling down its length and tarnishing the girl's pale hands with their sickly color.

As the blood flowed, he felt colder.

Tracing the blade, he saw it was connected to him... no. Connected was the wrong word. Impaled would be more fitting.

He had been impaled through the heart by a sword.

Black vines dug into his shins and slowly crawled up his legs like coiling serpents. They shredded his clothes and cut his skin. The pain was terriblehe felt so sluggish as if sleep he had been evading for so long had finally caught up to him.

His hands reached up and gripped the blade, trying to pull it out, but the girl pushed it in deeper.

His mind began to drift.

Would going to sleep be such a bad thing? He hadn't rested for so long.

The vines wrapped his head and obscured his eyes. He didn't even have the strength to circulate his Qi anymore.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and breathing became impossible. He gasped, but only the gurgling sound of blood reached his ears, and his vision blurred.

Finally, he lost his balance as he became light-headed and tumbled, landing hard on his back.

He tried to raise his head, but he felt the weight of the world dragging him back down.

A brief moment passed before everything went black.

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