Chapter 99: Ashlock Relocating His Children

Ashlock watched the scene unfold in horror.His relationship with the Redclaws had gone far beyond the point where Stella could mess up, and he could simply eliminate them without a second thought.

They were too valuable to be disposed of now.

So why had she mentioned something like that?

Stella sighed at the Grand Elder's question and replied,

The Grand Elder appeared bewildered, which was entirely understandable. Even Ashlock was somewhat confused by Stella's words, but fortunately, the Grand Elder dismissed her weird comments with a respectful bow.

Ashlock let out a long sigh of relief. Stella had salvaged it somehow.

Stella then pointed off into the distance at the huge demonic tree that occupied Red Vine Peak and was easily visible without the surrounding pavilion.

The Grand Elder slowly nodded,

Stella replied, crossing her arms.

The Redclaw Grand Elder stroked his chin as he observed the tree in the distance.

Ashlock really didn't appreciate being gawked at as it made him feel naked, nor did he condone Stella saying he was only capable of basic thought! Was that a roundabout way to call him stupid or something?

Stella nodded,

The Grand Elder's eyes widened as panic seemed to set in. Meanwhile, Ashlock found it astonishing that they would believe Stella's words, but in fairness, her explanation was more plausible than claiming he could communicate and had a sign-in system.

Stella gestured to Ashlock in the distance,

The Grand Elder bowed deeply again,

Stella approached and placed a reassuring hand on the Grand Elder's shoulder,

The Grand Elder straightened and adopted a serious demeanor.

No. Absolutely not. Ashlock wanted the trees to live for his own selfish reason of generating more Qi. That was not a justification for taking people's lives so brutally. What if someone genuinely ignorant, like a playful child, touched a tree? Would the child be killed on the spot, no questions asked?

Ashlock had been concerned that Stella might be somewhat psychopathic when she seriously asked if he needed her to wipe out Darklight City, but now he wondered if they all shared this trait.

Fortunately, Stella shook her head. Ashlock had never been more relieved that he had provided Stella with a pre-outlined plan before she left. Otherwise, he wouldn't be surprised if they went to commit mass murder.

Stella sighed.

"I fucking knew it," Ashlock groaned. He really needed to rein in her misguided loyalty—it was getting out of hand.

The Grand Elder questioned.

The Grand Elder nodded.

Stella smiled, removed two of her golden spatial rings, and placed them in the Grand Elder's hand.

Ashlock watched the transfer of money with a pained heart. Why was everything to do with cultivators so expensive?

After inspecting the contents of the ring, the Grand Elder nodded.

With a simple nod from Stella, the Grand Elder took to the skies, leaving a blazing trail of crimson flame as he rode his sword toward Darklight City.

With Stella now calmed, she approached the Elders standing off to the side.

They exchanged glances, and eventually, a stern woman replied,

Stella drummed her fingers on her crossed arm. Ashlock could tell she was carefully crafting her words to avoid sounding foolish in front of the Redclaws.

Elder Mo was next to speak up.

Stella agreed. Ashlock then opened a portal to transport them directly to the entrance of Darklight City. This was another reason he wanted the trees to remain in the city: he could wrap his roots around them and use the trees inside the city as anchor points for portals.

***

Elder Mo said with a chuckle as the group stood in the stands of a building resembling a colosseum from ancient Rome. The primary issue Elder Mo referred to was that the place looked more like a zoo enclosure filled with demonic trees rather than a suitable location for a tournament.

Stella agreed.

Elder Brent, the Elder Ashlock had seen on the wall that first spotted the approaching Dao Storm, spoke up.

Stella guessed. Elder Brent nodded in confirmation.

Elder Mo grumbled.

Stella looked at her golden spatial rings.

Elder Mo glared at them with annoyance.

A brief pause in the conversation led Ashlock to realize how certain affinities seemed more valuable than others. For example, what could the Redclaws really provide the sect other than firepower?

Stella wondered aloud while looking at the horizon.

The stern woman known as Elder Margret replied,

Elder Margret continued, counting on her fingers,

Stella raised a brow.

Ashlock was confused as he had never heard of this Nightrose family, and hadn't the Grand Elder said the Silverspire family was on their way?

Stella mirrored his concern to the Elder, who helpfully replied,

That was a lot of information to take in. Ashlock finally learned the name of the Patriarch's family. "I wonder what type of affinity the Nightrose family has? I should ask Stella when she returns to the mountain," Ashlock mused.

It was also interesting to learn that some affinities didn't have a Soul Fire. Did they follow a different cultivation system than everyone else? He was now even more intrigued to see these Silverspire people who were apparently on their way despite being told to wait.

Elder Margret added,

Ashlock hadn't encountered most of those yet, but the Terraforge family rang a bell as they were mentioned in regard to Douglas and, finally, the Azurecrest family. After hearing from Diana what happened to Venik and his sister, he had a bone to pick with them.

Stella nodded sagely, but Ashlock suspected she didn't know about those families either.

Stella inquired,

Elder Margret questioned,

Stella snapped back,

Stella then lowered her voice and added,

Elder Margret blinked in realization and then scribbled something down on a piece of parchment.

The group continued to converse for a while, and after an hour or so, the skies became filled with noise. Airships floated over the demonic forest-covered city, and a few low-rank cultivators empowered their voices with Qi and shouted to the streets below from the platforms. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Ashlock was surprised at how quickly the Grand Elder had put his plan into motion, which made things a little awkward as the city was enormous, and his roots didn't even cover a fifth of it. Fortunately, only the nearest half of the city was affected by the demonic trees, as the further one got from Red Vine Peak, the fewer demonic trees were present.

After a while, the city buzzed with people rushing toward guilds and requesting demonic tree removal. Ashlock was sure many of them would regret their decision once he decorated the demonic trees with beautiful flowers and magical mushrooms.

Something he planned to do overnight. Darklight City would wake up in the morning to a city they could hardly recognize. But while the sun was still up, he wanted to test out moving these demonic trees in the colosseum via his portals.

Back on Red Vine Peak, Ashlock opened a portal next to Douglas, who had been meticulously checking that the runic formation surrounding him was working properly. The man made eye contact with Stella through the portal, who gestured him through.

Once he stepped through and saw the colosseum filled with demonic trees, and a portal opened next to one of the trees that led to a random spot in the wilderness, Douglas seemed to understand his task.

Jumping down, Douglas landed in a cloud of dust and got to work. The ground turned into the same weird viscous state Ashlock had experienced two days ago, and he slowly pushed the tree up from the ground, roots and all.

Almost effortlessly, Ashlock used telekinesis through the root coiled around the demonic tree, guided it through the portal, and set it down on the lush grass of the wilderness. "Kid, dig your roots deep into the ground to stabilize yourself."

His root was naturally cut off when the portal snapped closed, but he had roots just below the surface of the wilderness, so he used them to help the demonic tree stay upright while it found its footing... rooting?

"This is going to be a tiring process, isn't it?" Ashlock sighed as he returned and worked alongside Douglas to move another one. Honestly, the fact he could lift trees with his mind was baffling, and it seemed to entertain the Redclaw Elders as well, as they stood watching with immense interest as trees many meters tall were uprooted and then floated through portals.

Elder Mo whistled in awe, and Stella grinned proudly from the side,

Things were going smoothly until late evening when Ashlock noticed something on the horizon approaching. Due to its size, he thought it was a giant cloud, but he was soon proven wrong when an airship that looked vast enough to be a floating city cast a looming shadow on Darklight City.

Elder Mo put his hands behind his back and grumbled,

Stella nodded and gestured for the Elders to lead the way.

Just looking at how large and majestic the Silverspires' airship was made Ashlock realize how small the Redclaw family was compared to the true powerhouses of the Blood Lotus sect.

All he could hope was they didn't eradicate the Redclaws and seize Darklight City for themselves because if they did, he would be shooting his roots through portals and popping that pompously big balloon.