Yin Hu clasped his hand behind his back as he stared at the distance. They had been traveling for days and had not crossed a third of the way through the ravines. They quickly learned that the white orb was nowhere close. They had left the cliff side the morning after first seeing the orbs rising from the ground in hopes that they could reach the object they were currently heading towards. Except the closer they got towards the valleys and the ravines, the quicker they learned that each one was miles wide.
Zhong Da was pretty upset after having been promised a couple of days to seclude himself and his wife and cultivate in hopes of finding traces of the Greater Dao. He got over it once Yin Hu had given the man a couple hours each day to meditate within the fields filled with Qi of various dead primordials. The man had started skipping away at the opportunity he had been given. Even his wife, Wu Xui, had shown a larger amount of emotions than he had ever seen from her.
Wonder why this place isn’t teeming with cultivators.
He had to wonder about that. There were no threats that would be dangerous enough for anyone worth their salt in the area. They had found a menacing warg, but that had been beaten and tamed by Shui in less than a day. If that beast was confident enough to hunt in the area, he doubted there were things that much stronger. Yin Hu would have expected this place to be considered some sort of holy ground for all sects and clans.
Maybe even neutral grounds for everyone to gather and meditate in search of the Greater Dao and whatever traces they could gain from the dead bodies of these ancient Kaiju level monsters.
Pilgrims and entire convoys pushing back and forth from all over the planet.
Yet, here he was, standing in complete emptiness without another soul a thousand miles away.
Then again, Yin Hu doubted that this area had anything worth searching for. He was sure his system would have reacted if it had noticed any type of Dao within the entire field, especially this close. Whenever he had gotten one as a reward, the world seemed to shift and shake, transforming the surroundings to whatever the Dao in question was based upon. Then his system would react violently fast to integrate it into the greater Dao he supposedly had available to him. Only to lock it behind the broken parts forever and keep it away from his access.
Yin Hu still remembered a time where he had hoped the Dao’s he gained could be his source of power once he lost hope in any Qi or energy being usable. It had taken another twenty million years for him to lose any imagination of it working too. He shook his head, just thinking about it left a bad taste in his mouth. He was past that depressing point of constant failures.
Things were looking up. He was slowly getting stronger in ways he could calculate, even going as far as to learn a new perception ability. Even if it was kind of useless currently, one day it wouldn’t be. He was patient enough to wait it out.
He looked back toward the girls, each on a stone and copying Zhong Da and his wife. Meditating silently and contemplating the Greater Dao.
Yin Hu smiled. Jun and Shui were happy with any distraction from their ethereal manuals. The pair had pleaded with him for hours at a chance to ‘meditate on the Greater Dao and find their own base for the foundations they were attempting to build’. He doubted that was true, but he enjoyed seeing them get so creative and try to convince him so hard.
Their words did ring true though. This foundation they were attempting to create with the help of the strange and confusing ethereal, nameless manuals would be based on their personal Daos. It wouldn’t make sense to build a structure's foundation without first preparing the base for the weight and proper size of what they were attempting to develop.
Both girls were developing their ability to talk their way out of issues. It was a good sign for their mental development.
Jun and Shui began to hoot and dance once he relented to their pleas as though they had won a difficult championship.
Yin Hu didn't mind their little antics. He wanted them to explore who they were and enjoy themselves like anyone their age should. They had more than enough time to play around before they had to lock in and cultivate seriously. Yin Hu had multiple cheats already in place to keep them ahead with his rewards in the rice bag and the mutation they had gained. Plus, he doubted anyone on this planet could keep up with their pace once they started going.
That was how lowly he thought of this cultivation world. The first chance they got to ascend as a group and keep their strength about them, they would be out of here.
He wouldn't have blinked if this entire world was ranked as a (F-).
Yin Hu reached out into the air where little embers and small candle fires hovered and danced around them. They were part of this ravine’s ecology and seemed to integrate into the plants and earth itself in a symbiotic relationship with everything else. It was a fascinating thing to study while the other four were busy sitting on large boulders and stones with their eyes closed.
One of the little flames danced its way to him and landed in his palms. They did not burn to the touch, but only gave off a warm comfortable feeling that filled his hands. Yin Hu could almost believe that they were alive if someone tried to convince him. He swished his hand back and forth, enjoying the little flame dancing wherever he waved or moved.
They're also voracious little buggers–
Shit! How long has it been since I brought out the greedy demonic tree?
Yin Hu had forgotten about the darn tree ever since he had thrown it into the bag and escaped the Silver Mountain Gang. It could have shriveled up and withered away within the void of his spatial rice bag without any notice. He looked back toward the girls and prayed that their little plant hadn’t died under his care or he would need to find a replacement as quickly as possible.
He pulled it out and let out a relieved sigh.
It was larger and looked different than he remembered it to be, but otherwise it was well and alive. It was no longer a brown trunk tree with yellow and green leaves, but rather it carried a metallic silver with pink and red leaves. It looked gorgeous. He could imagine an entire street lined with the same tree and snow covering the land except for the path forward. That would be an ideal place to create a sect or clan.
Then again, he couldn’t imagine having to deal with a couple dozen, if not hundreds of the greedy bastards. He did not trust it as far as he could throw it…
Yin Hu hummed as he began to remember how it had reacted to his command to stop trying to kill Dong ZhenKang’s associate when he had tried to flex on them. The same day he cursed due to how much Jun had been set back mentally. Maybe he could train it to be as loyal as a pet dog or as a guardian for their Hu Clan once he reclaimed the clan’s territory. It would be some time until then, but it would have its spot within their world.
Best I start bribing it with Qi stones and good stuff for it to eat. Once it gets stronger it’ll remember me and keep listening to my commands.
He pulled out a Superior Qi Stone and fed it to the tree. Its branches wrapped around it and began gulping as though it was drinking a liquid. Voraciously devouring every ounce of essence just as he expected of the greedy Demonic Spirit Tree. It took only a few moments before the white, pale glow that emanated from the stone vanished into nothingness. The stone fell to the floor empty and worthless.
Yin Hu picked up the stone and threw it into his inventory. Maybe a need would arise one day for empty Qi Stones that could hold as much as this one did.
The tree began to preen at the attention he was giving it. Yin Hu couldn’t help but pet it like a dog, it pushed back at his touch, though this time it did not attempt to suck away at his Qi. “What a good tree.”
He continued for a few seconds before finally pulling out his lounging chair to fulfil a greater purpose that the tree had. It was the perfect spot for him to sit under shade and enjoy sipping tea! Yin Hu put it under the small canopy of the Demonic Spirit Tree and sat under its shade, enjoying himself thoroughly, and then he pulled out his pot of tea with the associated cup and table.
Yin Hu poured himself some and began sipping as he waited for the group to finish up what they were doing. He sighed in contentment.
This almost feels perfect.
The tree tapped him on his shoulder.
Yin Hu blinked as he looked up at the tree. He stared at it for a few seconds before it reached out and tapped at his cup of tea. “Y-You want tea?”
He should have expected this development. The greedy thing would eat or drink absolutely anything it was given. It wasn't a question of if, but rather whether it had enough appetite to do so. He shrugged his shoulders and pulled out another cup, filling it up to the brim. At the very least, he’d have one person he could drink tea with. Yin Hu pushed the cup to the edge of the table where it could reach it comfortably.
The demonic tree shivered and trembled for a few seconds before a branch reached down low. The tree dipped the very tip of single leaf daintily. It took a sip and rose back up, copying Yin Hu's exact movements. Down to the shivering sigh of contentment he felt in those moments.
Yin Hu laughed loudly.
Maybe he could get along with a tree more than he could with other people in this cultivation world. None of them seemed to have a developed sense of palate or taste for the finer things in life while a literal tree did. It was an unlikely friendship, but at least it was a friendship. Something he had been lacking ever since arriving in this area. It was as simple as someone just sitting there and sipping at tea with him, enjoying life as it passed by them slowly.
He didn’t need any back and forth, no interactions, nothing but contentment in silence.
Both of them savored the other's presence while waiting for the others to finally wake up.
The girls were the first to rise from their stupor. They both rushed to him as soon as they saw their little Demonic Spirit Tree that was no longer as little and as tiny as it used to be.
Jun walked up to the tree and placed her palm on the metallic silver bark of the tree. “Is this…?”
“Yep. Must have grown while in my rice bag.”
“It's so big now.” Shui said as her eyes lit up, the warg trailed after her with its tail between its legs.
“Not as big as our original tree,” Jun said as she began to reminisce about the past and their home. “One day it will tower over a mountain.”
Shui’s eyes turned into little stars. “Really?”
Jun nodded as she began to regale Shui about the past. The tree was the focal point of her story; how large it had been, how majestic their original Hu Clan tree looked like, and everything else in between. Explaining in minute detail the mana pools that had surrounded it. How they cultivated and grew stronger through its presence. Another symbiotic relationship between nature and external entities much like the little candle fires and the vegetation of the ravine they were in.
Tale after tale escaped her. All of them lost track of time as they sat there listening to her excited narrations even going so far as to mention her father, an elder of some renown. The patriarch and his lovely wife, the fierce matriarch of the Hu Clan, both parents to Hu Shui. Then there were the festivals and days of cultivation around the base within caves and abodes at the base and roots of the world tree.
Zhong Da and Wu Xui finished their meditations at some point. Neither one approached when they noticed their little bonding moment, instead returning to their tent and left them to be.
Yin Hu respected that they were considerate enough to give them their privacy and not force themselves into the conversation. He still had no clue why Jun still felt so tense at the presence of Zhong Da and his wife. Maybe one day he would figure out. Until then he would treat them as kindly as they have been treating him and the girls. It was the least they could do.