Chapter 429: Funeral Plans

Ashlock couldn't believe how much divine energy naming the flagship had cost him. "System, did you make a mistake? Naming the flagship cost as much as naming Akasha, who is an ancient spirit tree. Why did it cost so much? Didn't I just give the lump of rock that makes up the Bastion a name?"

[When naming something, you give it a state of consciousness and weave a new thread of fate that ties it to you. Since 'Moros' didn't exist in any capacity until now, you efficiently created a new existence. Furthermore, since the name you picked carried so much intention, I consumed more divine energy to shape Moros in your image]

"In my image?" Ashlock said, "Similar to when I consciously envision what I want from an Ent during its creation, right?"

[Similar, but far less potent. For Moros, all I managed to do was attach a feeling of doom to its presence. When the ship appears, everyone will know its name deep in their soul. It's not quite telepathy, more like a divine hallucination. For now, it is just a harmless whisper; however, as the ship becomes more infamous, its dooming presence will increase]

"That's cool, woah. It's exactly what I wanted." Ashlock mused as he looked at the flagship floating overhead. Rain was pouring off its sides, and the leaves of the aether Qi trees seemed unfazed by the winds. The jagged black stone that made up its hull really added to Moros's ominous presence. "So besides its name being known to all when it appears, what else can the flagship do now?"

[Anything another Bastion can do but twice. Due to having two cores, you can have two layers of shields, twice the amount of artillery, and have a far thicker storm. Of course, this doesn't come for free. Moros consumes an ungodly amount of Qi to operate compared to your other Bastions]

"Makes sense. Not only does it have two cores, but they are both high-stage Star Core Realm trees with rare affinities. But I can pull Qi from the many Star Core aether Qi trees on the Bastion during combat, so it should be fine. It's just overusing void Qi that I have to be careful of."

"Creator, I have returned," Anubis interrupted Ashlock's musings as he announced his return and stepped out of the shadows with a terrified Julian and a confused but relaxed Catherine in tow.

"Welcome back," Ashlock said to his helpful shadow Ent.

Anubis nodded as he shepherded the two mortals to stand before Ashlock, and they both strained their necks to look up into his canopy.

They were Jasmine's parents, whom Ashlock had saved from Slymere. They could cultivate, as he had given them truffles, but it seemed neither had progressed much. Julian was a middle-aged man wearing a well-tailored suit with a neat blonde beard. Dark circles were under his eyes, suggesting a recent lack of sleep. Meanwhile, Catherine had dark green hair and the aura of a kind mother.

Whatever was bothering Julian erupted before Ashlock got a chance to speak.

"Ashlock, please forgive him." Julian said, words pouring out his mouth, "Eric wasn't in his right mind. He lost his son, so he's not thinking straight—"

Anubis raised his hand, silencing the man.

"You're right," Julian's voice dropped to a whisper as he looked to the floor, "Eric did a terrible thing. He should be punished accordingly."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Ashlock said through Anubis as his {Abyssal Whispers} skill would kill them. No matter how much he tried to reign it in, a mortal would never survive the mental strain of an A-grade mental attack skill.

Julian seemed flustered and confused as he stared into Anubis's flickering flames for eyes, "Eric kicked a tree in anger... isn't that a death sentence? It's such a shame because he's a great worker and was one of the most devoted believers in the All-Seeing Eye before the night of slaughter."

"Death sentence? How evil do you think I am? While I'd rather people didn't go around kicking my children, a mortal kicking a spirit tree isn't going to harm it. You said he was lashing out because his son died, right? I actually called you and your wife here to discuss the situation in Darklight City." Ashlock explained, and Julian sighed with relief.

"What situation are you referring to?" Catherine asked.

Ashlock paused as he thought of how to word it. "Mhm, I suppose I want to know why everyone looks so miserable?"

The two exchanged a confused look.

"Because millions died?" Julian eventually said.

"Millions died? Are you perhaps referring to the battle with Vincent Nightrose?"

Ashlock asked, and they nodded.

"Since I already brought him up, let's use Eric as an example. Head of sales for the Ashfallen Trading Company and devotee believer in the All-Seeing Eye. He was having the time of his life until the night of slaughter, where he desperately chased his ten-year-old son through the mud and rain, only to watch him be butchered by armored monsters in your service." Julian said.

"That is quite the sad story," Ashlock said as he fell into thought, "How long do you think it will take him to get over it?"

"Get over it?" Julian blinked.

Cathrine stepped forward, "Ashlock, a parent never gets over the death of a child. Time does heal all wounds, but just because the bleeding stops, a deep scar still remains."

Divine energy gently crackled between Ashlock's branches as he processed their words, "I understand that. But don't mortals die all the time? Beast tides wipe out entire cities of mortals who couldn't escape in time. How do they get over it?"

"Again, with time." Cathrine calmly explained, "While the older generation continues to grieve those they left behind, the new generation is only told stories. The impact on them isn't the same until they inevitably experience what they heard in those stories, and so the cycle continues."

Ashlock wasn't sure where the idea had come from, but he had assumed the people of this world would be far more desensitized to death. It was almost shocking to learn that they were just like the people back in his old world. If so, how did people put up with life here? He couldn't imagine being born as a mortal while knowing others could cultivate and live forever. How could he stay sane while toiling away on some farm for his overlords before dying after a few decades?

He had already made efforts to reduce that feeling by selling cheap pills that granted mortals the chance to cultivate.

"But I can do so much more for them," Ashlock mused. "Whether I accept it or not, I'm their god. They look up to and depend on me. I thought telling them why it happened would have been enough for them to all get over it, but now I see that wasn't enough."

"I have so much going on," Ashlock said to Jasmine's parents through Anubis, "I defeated Vincent Nightrose and took over the Blood Lotus Sect. As we speak, I'm fighting off the cataclysmic beast tide, and just a moment ago, I had a run-in with a Monarch Realm cultivator from the Celestial Empire on our borders."

Julian bowed his head, "We understand. The citizens' plights and grief pales compared to what you do for us."

"No. I can do better," Ashlock said, earning a surprised look from Julius and Cathrine. "While I don't have the time or focus to help the mortals with day-to-day issues, I handled the aftermath of the fight with Vincent poorly. Even from a cynical perspective, it would have been a good opportunity to farm some goodwill from the people. It's an opportunity and duty I overlooked as I didn't see the mortals as worth my focus compared to the other things demanding my attention. However, I have some spare time right now and want to make things right. Do either of you have any suggestions?"

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Cathrine and Julian looked at each other and fell into thought.

The mortals were more essential to Ashlock's power than they likely realized. The people gave him wealth through taxes, nutrients through their waste, and, most importantly, divine energy. He had already noticed a significant drop in divine energy since the fight with Vincent Nightrose. During the time his sect was in the Mystic Realm, the sacrificial credits he had saved up hardly grew from the divine stock market. He had assumed it was due to the sharp decrease in population but now suspected that the people's somber moods were also a contributing factor.

"I'd say the biggest issue right now is a lack of communication and closure," Julian concluded after a while.

"Go on."

"While you did tell the population a vague reason for the slaughter, many still have questions. While they know it was done because of Vincent Nightrose, they don't understand why their loved ones had to be killed. So, another announcement with more detail would be appreciated. Though I'm not sure what can be done for closure."

"What about a funeral to honor the dead?" Cathrine suggested, "Due to the storm, everyone's been mostly trapped in their homes and unable to share their grief. Coming together as a community could help speed up the healing process."

"A large funeral could work,"

Julian agreed with his wife. "Would such a thing be possible, Ashlock?"

"Yes, but I have an idea."

They both looked at him expectantly.

"You said the people will never move on, right? I think I have found a solution to help heal people's consciousness. What if instead of nameless gravestones, I have each person plant one of my seeds? That way, instead of a gravestone, they have a living tree they can visit and talk to."

If it was done in the name of the All-Seeing Eye, it would also give him a constant inflow of divine energy.

Cathrine's eyes widened. "That could work. I like that idea. Though..." She fell into contemplation and seemed to struggle with wording her next sentence. "They are just identical seeds, right? The trees wouldn't be different from one another. While I like the idea, a gravestone is oddly more personalized. Do you see what I mean?"

"That's a good point. Just putting a sign with the person's name doesn't feel sincere enough. Mhm... and I can't merge the dead people's souls with the trees, as they were thoroughly destroyed by Vincent and would have disappeared by now anyway."

"Does it have to be their souls?" Julian pointed out, "We are just doing this for closure. So long as the people think there is a part of their loved one in the tree, it should be enough. After all, just like a gravestone, it's done for as a sentimental thing."

"Good point... so long as they believe it's real, that's good enough. Wait, isn't this a perfect job for Elysia Mystshroud? Her mystic Qi can make anything she believes real into reality." Ashlock was shocked at how good of an idea this had become. He had always thought that one of the best aspects of this world was the possibility of eternal life. A gift he and his close allies enjoyed, but he wanted to share it with more people.

Who wouldn't want to be worshipers of the All-Seeing Eye if, when they died, they got to become a spirit tree?

"I will leave it to you two to spread the word. In two days, a ceremony will be held to honor the dead. Inform the people that they should bring along an item that belonged to the person who died so that the demonic tree seed can be blessed with a fragment of the dead by a member of the Mystshroud family. I'm unsure as to their capabilities, but if Elysia is crazy enough, maybe she really can bring back their souls."

"We will inform the people," Catherine nodded. "However, I need to tell them where this will be."

"How about along the road between Darklight and Ashfallen City? That way, it's equal distance from both cities and accessible enough for most of the population." Ashlock suggested, "That area's mostly a wasteland, so it should be big enough to accommodate all the trees."

"I think this is a great idea," Julian paused before bowing deeply, "Seriously, thank you, Ashlock. Darklight City hasn't felt the same since the night of slaughter, and it's been harrowing to see those around me break down."

Catherine patted her husband's back with a sad look, "While we thankfully didn't lose any family, we lost good friends during that night. This will be a chance for all of us to heal."

"No, it's I who should be grateful. It's the belief the mortals place in me which gives me power. Without them, I would be greatly weakened and unable to protect them from threats like the Beast Tide. This is a give-and-take relationship, and as their god, I have been letting them down." Ashlock paused, "I'll try to do better from here on out. Can you two let me know if something like this happens again."

"We would be happy to," Julian smiled.

"Good. If that's all, Anubis can help you guys back down."

"Um, I had one thing to ask," Catherine said while sheepishly raising her hand.

"Sure, go ahead."

"When can I next see little Jaz? It feels like so long since she came to visit me." Catherine said with sadness in her eyes.

Ashlock chuckled, "She has been rather busy around here lately, hasn't she? Well, you see that fog over there? She's currently training inside a pocket realm and should be out in 2 days' time. After spreading the word of the funeral, you're free to come back here and wait for her if you wish."

"I'd love that, thank you!"

"I'm sure she will be thrilled to see you too," Ashlock half-joked. Jasmine found her mother a little irritating, but what child didn't find their parents at least a little annoying? "If that is all, Anubis, show them out."

"As you wish, Creator." Anubis placed his hands on the shoulders of the two mortals, and the trio sunk into the shadows. Once again, with the mountain peak silent, Ashlock decided to go and check on the frontlines with the beast tide.

The world blurred, and he arrived over the vast northern forest. As he feared, due to his antics near Argentum, the storm had advanced, shrinking the gap between the storm and his forest, giving him less land to kill the monsters before they reached his offspring.

Thousands of Soul Fire Realm and a few Star Core Realm Ents that had been created from the monsters' corpses roamed the land, with a few still in the sky. Willow, his spatial Basiton, floated overhead and continued to do what he had been instructed.

Whenever one of his Ents managed to restrain a monster in the desolation field for long enough, Willow would teleport the body to his surface, where Khaos would promptly execute the monster. Willow ate a few to advance his cultivation, which had advanced to the 5th stage of the Star Core Realm. The rest were stored. Once enough corpses had piled up, Ashlock would overtake Willow with {Progeny Dominion} and turn them all into Ents.

So far, this has been working quite well, but there were still issues. The storm's advance had only been slowed, not stopped. Meaning it would reach his offspring and eventually Red Vine Peak. There was also the issue that his thousands of Soul Fire Realm Ents would be small fry to the wave of Star Core Realm monsters soon to come.

"I need to hurry up and get those spirit stones from the Silverspire family so I can empower my offspring with my new cultivation technique {Divine Cycle of Creation and Ruin [SS]} before the second wave arrives."

The ones at the very front had already had their cultivation boosted up from the spirit stones Stella had purchased from the Eternal Pursuit Pavilion and were nearing the Star Core Realm.

"But that will be in a few days. For now, there's something I wanted to check."

He had spread his roots under the beast tide, but the storm blocked his spiritual sight from penetrating too deep. The storm also interfered with his attacks, so he couldn't efficiently wipe out the waves of monsters before they reached his Ents. However, he wasn't totally blind or helpless within the storm; he was just weakened.

"Let's see what's lurking in the darkness." Ashlock's sight moved to within the storm, and in the chaos of wind and rain, he saw the monsters gathering at the edge in large groups. Luckily, they were still weaklings, mainly in the Soul Fire Realm.

"If only this storm wasn't here. I'd be able to melt them with my desolation Qi." Ashlock paused as an idea struck him. He had been so focused on the storm, but what if he solely targeted the monsters? "If I released desolation Qi infused with demonic dao, wouldn't that make it more efficient? But I don't know demonic dao despite being a demonic tree..."

[You actually do, just at a low level]

"Wait, I do?" Ashlock asked the system prompt that had suddenly appeared in his mind, "What other ones do I know?"

[Known daos in order of your current level of comprehension: Spatial, Shadow, Desolation, Soul, Harmony, Lightning, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Metal, Illusion, Poison, Blood, Sunlight, Demonic]

There was a lot to unpack here. Spatial made sense, being the highest as it was the affinity he had until he upgraded to desolation. Next was shadow, which was high because he had learned it to a high level through his connection to Nox, who had inherited the Dark Throne and learned shadow law. Soul dao was also high up as he had reshaped his soul into one fitting a tree. Basic elements like fire, water, earth, wind, and metal also made sense as he learned them to form his inner world.

"Is this all of them?" Ashlock wondered.

[No, there are too many to count below demonic dao. These are simply the ones you have enough understanding of to use with desolation Qi]

"I see... why do I know lightning and poison dao?"

[You have resistance skills for those affinities, which came with some level of dao understanding. That's also why fire is higher up than the other basic daos]

"What about sunlight—"

[You're a tree. What tree wouldn't have sunlight dao?]

"Good point..." Ashlock chuckled. Either way, this meant he had demonic dao but at a very low level of comprehension. The only way to improve it was to meditate on the heaven's whispers and use it.

Ashlock didn't want to sit around meditating, so he chose option two: infusing his desolation Qi with his weak demonic dao and slowly advancing the front line into the storm. The monsters gathering at the edge seemed to notice the presence of the desolation Qi immediately, as the weaker ones began to back up, much to the rage of the monsters behind them.

"While this may not be able to outright kill them as the storm is suppressing me, maybe I can use this to shepherd them in a certain direction?" Ashlock had planned to do this with his forests once the storm inevitably reached them, but why not start early?

And he had just the hungry spider to feed them to.