Two weeks elapsed uneventfully since Stella confronted the Redclaw family. After revealing the existence of the legendary spirit root-improving pill and outlining plans for the alchemy tournament, the elders appeared rejuvenated and eager to be under the Ashfallen sect's rule.

They soon tempered their excitement and raised several concerns, such as the scarcity of fire Qi and their lagging behind other sects. Stella assured them that the immortal would provide a solution in two months' timean entire month after they agreed to schedule the alchemy tournament.

Ashlock recognized that organizing such an extravagant tournament would require time, but he urgently needed an alchemist, so he imposed a one-month deadline, which was already halfway through.

To address the fire Qi problem, Ashlock intended to grant the Redclaws access to his Mystic Realm, but only after another round of testing in two weeks. He wanted to confirm the Mystic Realm's consistency before making any promises.

It would be mortifying if he assured them of its benefits, only to discover that the Mystic Realm could only connect to realms devoid of fire Qi.

Meanwhile, Ashlock had directed a root to ascend the Redclaw mountain and encircle the white stone palace, enabling communication with the Redclaw family's elders once they mastered the ancient language. Unfortunately, it had taken far more resources than he was willing to admit, partly due to the mountain's lack of soil or mycelium, so the roots growth was wholly fueled by his Qi.

Ashlock was genuinely impressed by the elders' dedication over the past fortnight, with hardly any family members cultivating, which he attributed partly to the absence of fire Qi, rendering cultivation a somewhat fruitless endeavor. Instead, they devoted themselves entirely to the responsibilities he imposed on them through Stella's speech.

During the day, they concentrated on the tournament and other duties like patrolling the walls or overseeing the mines, and at night, they fervently studied the ancient language in hopes of one day communicating with an immortal.

Although Ashlock was pleased with his new subordinates so far, he had to concede that the vigilant wall guards meant fewer beasts breached the walls for him to snack on, causing his sacrificial points to dwindle in recent days.

Idletree Daily Sign-In System

Day: 3499

Daily Credit: 11

Sacrifice Credit: 207

[Sign in?]

"Only a little over two hundred points..." Ashlock cursed.

Aside from producing mushrooms and fruit for future alchemy ingredients and practicing telekinesis, the past fortnight had been uneventful.

Larry was away hunting prey beyond the walls, leaving him scarceMaple was similarly absent, likely off conducting atrocities somewhere.

Diana and Stella were meditating on the adjacent courtyard's runic formation after being given more truffles. They hadn't moved in days, leaving Ashlock alone with his thoughts.

He longed for more points, as two hundred seemed meager. "Should I focus on extending my roots eastward, past the wall and into the wilderness?"

Previously, it hadn't been a practical idea since he couldn't kill or transport corpses back. However, now able to cast Devour through portals and drag bodies back to Red Vine Peak, he was motivated to explore the wilderness and stop relying on the corpses Larry or others brought him.

Fortunately, the wall's foundations weren't particularly deep, and by late afternoon, he had a single root beyond the wall, venturing into the vast wilderness. Naturally, he soon connected to the mycelium network present in the nutrient-abundant soil, accelerating his root's growth despite its distance from his Star Core.

However, as the root extended for several more miles, Ashlock noticed his spiritual sight through the root gradually diminishing. "Mhm, my Qi will be significantly weakened at this distance."

He might even struggle to create a functioning portal if he ventured further.

Fortunately, as a tree, he had no need to pursue prey. Similar to his strategy with the rats in the mine, Ashlock guided the root to puncture the soil and surface within a dense, leafy bush. He then summoned his Magic Mushroom production menu and filled the bush with fragrant poisonous mushrooms.

To Qi-empowered creatures roaming the wilderness, Ashlock knew that poisonous mushrooms would have little effect. So, instead of causing direct harm, he designed the poison to induce sleep. His exploding portals, thorn-covered vines, and spatial Qi-coated leaves controlled by telekinesis would handle the rest.

***

It wasn't until the dawn of the following day that Ashlock found his first victim.

Sniffing a peculiar bush laden with sweet-smelling mushrooms was a massive boar-like beast cloaked in black fur with a single menacing horn jutting from its narrow forehead.

Despite its size, the creature's gaunt features, with ribs poking through flesh and shallow cheekbones, suggested a lack of food in recent weeks. It was starved, and despite the suspicious nature of the bush, it reluctantly leaned in, pushing its snout between the dense leaves and nibbling on the protruding mushrooms.

Ashlock had no idea how the mushrooms tasted, but the boar seemed content as it eagerly delved deeper into the bush, consuming every mushroom within reach.

With the beast so close to his root that it coiled up the bush's stem, he could detect that the boar's cultivation was around the 4th stage of the Soul Fire realm.

"Pathetically weak," Ashlock muttered. As his cultivation grew, weaker monsters yielded fewer credits. Regardless, this half-starved creature at the 4th stage of the realm below his own would still grant a few credits, just so few it almost wasn't worth the effort.

Eventually, the beast staggered back and started blinking as if succumbing to drowsiness. With a thud, it toppled like a sedated cow, lying there in a peaceful slumber.

Ashlock faced a choice: drag the boar through a portal to consume it for a few points or leave the carcass in hopes of luring a more formidable foe. In times like these, he was grateful for his increasingly manageable hunger, which allowed for more calculated decisions.

Opting to leave the boar behind for now, Ashlock continued to extend his root network, reaching several miles beyond the wall and into the untamed wilderness.

***

Later that afternoon, Ashlock checked on the slumbering boar, only to find it gone.

"I am such a fool," Ashlock berated himself, remembering he couldn't monitor everything. He would remain unaware of events unless he observed an area or a creature gnawed on his roots.

Casting {Eye of the Tree God}, Ashlock surveyed the area to see if he could find the culprit. Fortunately, he didn't have to search far before spotting an enormous six-legged wolf-like creature covered in dark brown fur enjoying its meal.

"7th stage of the Soul Fire realm." Ashlock mused as he observed the beast that stole his prey, "Not too shabby. It will serve as a nice meal."

The creature yelped in surprise as a rift in space materialized above it, and numerous black vines coated in flaming Star Core Qi shot through, wrapping around its limbs.

Ashlock had anticipated more resistance, but the wolf appeared drowsy, thrashing about as if exhausted. "Did the boar's blood still contain the sleeping toxin?" Ashlock wasn't certain, but he was even more astonished when the wolf refused to release the boar clutched in its jaws, dragging it along as the portal overhead pulled them both in.

Back at Red Vine Peak, many miles from the wilderness, the wolf found itself beneath the vast canopy of an immense demonic tree, which eagerly accepted its sacrifice.

The creature squealed as the vines tightened their grip like coiling vipers, then outright howled when thorns injected searing digestive fluids into its skin that melted its flesh.

[+28]

[+12]

Ashlock felt a twinge of guilt for the wolf, but the sacrificial credit notifications quickly washed it away.

Checking his balance, he now had a combined total of 259 credits, enough to guarantee a C-grade draw.

Since he only needed a hundred more to somewhat secure a B-grade item or skill draw, Ashlock resolved to return to the wilderness and continue hunting.

His vision blurred as he rapidly surveyed miles of wilderness in search of prey. "Maybe I should make my roots grow into the center of the mushrooms, so I can sense when a monster bites."

He tried, but unfortunately, his Magic Mushroom Production skill lacked such a feature, and forcing the growth would destroy the mushrooms.

Ashlock had connected to the mycelium network, but the trees in the wilderness didn't react to passing monsters as those at the base of Red Vine Peak did to cultivators. It made sense, considering beasts were common and didn't bother the trees.

"I could start spreading my {Demonic Seed} throughout the wilderness, as connecting with them is far easier. Of course, they would inform Dad about potential snacks, right?" Ashlock chuckled but quickly turned serious as he spotted more creatures among the foliage, drawn to his sleep-inducing mushrooms.

His excitement waned when he assessed their cultivation. "Even weaker than the boar!" Ashlock's only consolation was that the group of around five beasts would yield a similar number of points due to their number.

This time, he didn't wait for them to start eating his mushroomsspatial Qi-coated leaves were torn from nearby plants and launched at the skittish monsters resembling giant demonic chickens. The creatures attempted to flee the deadly whirlwind but were reduced to shreds within seconds.

A rift then opened and dragged their shredded corpses through to be devoured.

[+7]

[+8]

[+4]

[+3]

[+5]

"Does this even count as a snack?" Ashlock grumbled as he finished his meal and went out hunting again.

***

By the next day, Ashlock felt like a genius.

He had observed that his children had turned the forest at the base of the mountain into an area devoid of wildlife, likely due to the pervasive scent of death.

Consequently, he realized that growing demonic trees near the mushroom-bearing bushes would be counterproductive, as the monsters would be deterred from venturing in, even if enticed by the sweet-smelling mushrooms.

Thus, Ashlock devised a solution. He aimed to use the demonic trees in the wilderness as a warning system through the mycelium network, alerting him to the presence of monsters he could kill.

Additionally, if the monsters consumed the berries of the demonic trees, they would perish, allowing him to claim the corpses.

To achieve this, Ashlock quickly grew tiny fruits, barely surrounding a {Demonic Seed}. He then opened rifts around them, severing the stems and depositing the seeds at the outskirts of his roots in the wilderness.

The plan was for the demonic trees to funnel the monsters toward the mushroom-laden bushes while simultaneously warning him when the creatures entered his kill zone.

Unfortunately, the trees would take years to grow unless they sprouted from the corpse of a beast that had consumed them. So, whenever Ashlock encountered those oversized demonic chickens, he would use telekinesis to decapitate them and force the {Demonic Seed} into their bodies, expediting the growth of the saplings.

Even with this accelerated growth, it would still take approximately a year for a sapling to mature into a tree capable of conveying emotions to him via the mycelium network. Therefore, Ashlock treated this as a long-term project and focused on locating stray beasts with his {Eye of the Tree God}, dragging them through portals.

Ashlock was annoyed about the beasts being so low in cultivation, but if he reflected more on the situation, he realized it made sense that the beasts roaming near the sect's walls were limited to the Soul Fire realm. If Star Core beasts were present, a Grand Elder must constantly patrol the walls.

By day's end, he decided to cut his losses and concluded he had accrued enough points for a draw. At his current rate, it would take too long to save up for an A-grade or higher draw with the wilderness now scarce of stray beasts for him to feast on.

Idletree Daily Sign-In System

Day: 3501

Daily Credit: 12

Sacrifice Credit: 327

[Sign in?]

"Yes, sign in," Ashlock said, and a system notification flashed in his mind, one he was all too familiar with.

[Sign-in successful, 339 credits consumed]

[Unlocked a B-grade skill: Blooming Root Flower Production]

Information entered Ashlock's mind regarding the skills nature, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the system's skill selection, knowing that production abilities were among his most valuable assets.

As his cultivation realm and Qi generation expanded, the constraints imposed by the skills somewhat diminished.

However, Ashlock had to exercise caution. All the Qi he expended on growing mushrooms and fruits, expanding his root network, and enlarging his trunk could be used instead to develop his Star Core and cultivation stage.

Ashlock's Star Core generated abundant Qi on its own, but the only way to force it to the next stage was by expanding the Star Core through meditation and pouring more Qi into it.

If his meditation technique couldn't keep pace with his Qi expenditure, his Star Core's growth would stall, and he would remain forever stuck in the 2nd stage of the Star Core.

He wanted to avoid such an undesirable fate by being careful.

This made the sudden unlocking of a new production skill all the more concerning.

Ashlock chose to postpone hunting for the time being and refocused his attention on Red Vine Peak to test his new skill. As his vision blurred and he switched from his {Eye of the Tree God} sight, which surveyed the land, to his usual spiritual sight, he was taken aback by the sight of two columns of fireone purple and the other blueerupting in the runic formation courtyard.

Moreover, there were other cultivators present.