Reborn as a Demonic Tree Chapter 464: Halfie

Stella led Nyria through the desolation portal.

Having never gone through a portal, Nyria wasn't sure if the sulphuric sll of reality being torn apart was normal. It was also surprising how short the trip through it was. From the outside, it looked more like a tunnel, but within a single step, she passed through, and her ears popped from the pressure change.

She glanced around. Encircling her was a ring of strange trees with translucent trunks and leaves made of condensed starlight, their branches swaying as if moved by an invisible wind. Below her feet, growing in bundles from the black stone, were flowers that matched the tree's ethereal appearance. They were almost entirely translucent, as if they were on the brink of passing into another dinsion, but they hadn't made the final leap. The patter of rain made her look up. Whatever place Stella had brought her to was surrounded by a do of reality tinted white, and it reminded her of the white flas that had surrounded Stella when she teleported to her side earlier.

Is this her cultivation area? I was under the impression most humans picked caves to ditate in as they are safer, but this seems to be outside... wait. Nyria narrowed her eyes and peered past the shield. She hadn't noticed it at first because it was early in the morning and before sunrise, but an imnse shadow was blocking out the stars. Is that a tree?

It was so massive that she hadn't realized what she was looking at at first. But now, taking it all in, she saw that half the sky was veiled by a vast canopy of rustling red leaves, swaying in the storm. Only thin streaks of moonlight pierced through, tracing the outlines of the tree's black bark. She couldn't see its roots as they weren't currently on the ground, but on a mountain or a floating island?

"He's pretty tall, isn't he?"

Nyria glanced over her shoulder to see Stella grinning.

"Yeah... is that the great spirit tree?" She asked.

Stella nodded, "Yeah, that's my father—Ashlock."

"Amazing. I can feel an imnse pressure from him," Nyria said, and was telling the truth. Since she was nearing the peak of the Star Core Realm, she could barely resist the soul pressure from a Nascent Soul Realm being, but this tree's passive aura was on another level. Despite not being directed or weaponized against her, its re presence subtly weighed on her shoulders as if serving as a constant reminder that she could be crushed anyti.

Not even her Father, Astralis, emitted such an aura.

One of Stella's many silver rings flashed, and a pill appeared in her hand. "Here, take this," she threw it, and Nyria easily caught it. "It's a Mind Fortress pill. It will help protect your consciousness from collapsing should Ash wish to speak to you directly and help you relax."

Nyria wasn't very well-versed in pills, as monsters didn't know how or care to delve into alchemy. It was seen as a thing that weak humans did to keep up with monsters that could grow their cultivation through devouring each other.

Perhaps sensing her confusion, Stella added, "Don't worry. It's totally safe. It's made from a fruit grown here and mixed with so other plants. You can just gulp it down, and it will work on its own."

Nyria scrutinized the tiny round ball between her fingers for a mont longer before throwing it into her mouth and doing as instructed. It was a strange sensation to swallow sothing without chewing it first, but as Stella said, the pill dissolved in her stomach, and a strange calm washed over her mind.

"Feeling better?" Stella asked.

Nyria nodded. A great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and the stress from the beast tide seed like a distant mory. "I'm feeling much better now, thank you."

Stella laughed. "You know, Nyria, you're quite polite and easy going for a dragon. Having interacted with him," she gestured to Kaida, who had just erged from the desolation rift beside the silver wooden dragon that had been her half-brother, "I was expecting you to be a lot more arrogant."

"That's because I'm half human..."

"Don't give that crap," Stella cut her off. "Humans are so of the most arrogant drivel I've ever had the displeasure of interacting with. In a way, I prefer monsters and their way of doing things."

"Oh, I see. I've rarely interacted with humans before, so everything I hear about them is through stories and legends."

"Such as?"

"That they are weaklings," Nyria replied without hesitation.

Stella burst out laughing, "Weaklings! I suppose that is true, yeah. Not that I can bla them too much. Cultivating safely by only absorbing Qi from the world around us instead of also getting it from devouring beasts' cores is inefficient."

"You speak as if you aren't a human," Nyria said hesitantly, "I know you say your parents are both spirit trees, but you look and act very much like a human to ."

"Looks can be deceiving, you know?" Stella said mysteriously, "But, you're right. I might act like a human, as I was raised by them during my early childhood, and I look and cultivate like a human—I suppose I sound detached from their struggles due to the pills I have made from our hogrown fruit. They allow to overco heart demons and effortlessly pass bottlenecks like a monster would, as you guys don't have as defined cultivation realms."

"Interesting... I never knew these pills humans are known to use were so useful," Nyria mused. "Is this where you cultivate, then?"

Stella looked around, "Um, honestly? No... at least not yet. I really should. I usually cultivate inside the Mystic Realm and get lazy when I leave it."

"Mystic Realm?" Nyria asked. She had never heard that term before.

"We have a way to occasionally access pocket realms made by Monarch Realm cultivators or even gods. Sotis, they contain inheritances or divine treasures, but usually, they are filled with Qi, making cultivation a breeze. In fact, I got these trees and flowers from a recent Mystic Realm trip."

"Right..." Nyria didn't know if Stella was making up things to impress her, or if this spirit tree was actually so kind of god. "So what is this place if not your cultivation spot?"

"Its na is Moros," a thousand voices overlapping each other said directly in her mind, before Stella could answer. "It's a Bastion. A floating island that serves as a fortress and can be maneuvered around like an airship. It's what we will use to venture into the storm in search of your father or another Primal Overlord that can get us in touch with Zephyrine."

Stella nodded as if she could also hear the voice, "What Ash says is correct."

"You're Ashlock?" She asked in her mind while looking at the giant tree that had to be hundreds of ters high.

"That's correct." He answered. His voice was nothing like she had ever heard before. Not only did it sound like many voices speaking at once from all directions, but it carried this weight of absolute aning with every word.

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"Now, face and stay still for a mont. I want to check a few things."

Nyria was confused, but did as instructed. It may sound ek, but she had learned how to survive in the wilderness. It was all about balance. While strength was respected and feared, sotis it was best to bow and beg before the strong. This was one such case where being prideful wouldn't get her anywhere.

Her intuition turned out to be right, as there was a resounding crack from the tree as it seed to split down the middle. The crack slowly widened like a sleeping dragon opening their eye, and from within the darkness of the great spirit tree's trunk was an eye that looked right at her. It was unfathomably big, and she felt rooted in place under the tree's scrutinizing gaze. Without the protection of the Mind Fortress pill Stella had been so gracious to gift her, she would have been a trembling ss.

"Mhm, your cultivation is around the peak of the Star Core Realm, and you cultivate cosmic Qi?"

"Yes," Nyria gulped, "I inherited it from my Father."

"So he also cultivates cosmic Qi? You said Astralis was nearing Monarch Realm, right?"

"Yeah, at least at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, maybe even the Monarch Realm. I apologize, but his power is so far beyond mine that I can't answer accurately."

"That makes sense..."

Nyria shuddered a little as she felt the gaze seem to scrutinize her down to the soul level. While it was uncomfortable, she had questions. The great spirit tree seed knowledgeable and capable of deep analysis, which wasn't sothing monsters knew or talked about, so she was curious.

"If it wouldn't be so presumptuous of to ask, but I've been stuck at the peak of the Star Core Realm for quite a while. Do you think I'm ready to take that next step?"

"Yes, you are quite close. Your Star Core is nearing its limit for gathered Qi. However, it seems your human lineage has crippled your superior dragon spirit roots, so your talent is only above average. That's likely why you feel stuck."

Nyria furrowed her brows. "What do you an by talent?"

"It's a made-up term by the humans. They like to think they are born with so heaven-gifted ability to cultivate, but really, it just cos down to how efficiently their spirit roots can absorb and process Qi. So are born with dead spirit roots, dooming them to live their life out as a mortal. Others are born with perfect spirit roots that let them cultivate quickly. You are sowhere in the middle."

Nyria looked down at her hands and frowned, "I'm average? Is there a way to fix that?"

"There sure are. We even have a pill that can permanently improve your spirit roots," Stella said, summoning a pill to her hand. It was larger than the previous one, and she could sll its earthy sll from here. As if noticing her curious and desperate expression, Stella closed her hand, and the pill vanished. "I'd be willing to give it to you after we et with Zephyrine."

"Really?!" Nyria said with genuine excitent. She was considered quite a strong monster in the grand sche of things, but had felt her cultivation slow to a crawl a few decades ago. The Qi in this realm simply wasn't dense enough to cultivate, so she was stuck waging wars against other monster factions and devouring her enemies to keep up.

To think all of her problems with slow progress could supposedly be solved with that single pill Stella had briefly shown her.

"I'll be right back," Stella said, and she vanished in a flash of white flas.

Nyria blinked, but then rembered they hadn't returned to Stella's lands to have a fun chat. They had co to gather enough forces to fight through the beast tide and make contact with a Primal Overlord.

But she hadn't been left alone. Kaida, the shadow lich, and her brother, who had turned into an Ent, were here.

Kaida floated through the air beside her and looked down with those intense golden eyes. "Co with ." He said, and Nyria complied. He led her toward the edge of Moros before pausing. "Can you fly?"

Nyria nodded. Her Star Core pulsed, and spectral dragon wings manifested from her back. They were crafted from cosmic Qi.

Kaida seed to look at them with a hint of interest, which was a little embarrassing. "Mhm, good wings. Can you turn into a dragon?"

"Sadly, no. Once I reach the Nascent Soul Realm, so monsters unlock a more humanoid form. Since I'm already in a human form, I'll likely be able to turn into a dragon instead."

Kaida let out an amused snort, "I see. Follow ."

He effortlessly flew through the shield, and Nyria hesitantly followed. It wrapped around her form, lightly tugging at her skin like water when leaving a river before giving way and letting her go into the storm. The roar of rain was almost deafening compared to the relative quiet on the Bastion.

Following behind Kaida, she glanced around. The Bastion was a massive island, around half as long as the great spirit tree was tall. It was floating over a mountain peak and seed to be serving as shelter for a massive hole in the middle of the peak. As they dived down below it and got closer, Nyria noticed there was a pillar in the middle of the hole and so building with a tree growing from it.

"What is this place?" Nyria shouted ahead at Kaida. The dragon glanced over his back.

"This is Red Vine Peak, the most important place in the Ashfallen Sect." He said, then pointed at the building, "And that is my library."

"Why are you taking there?" Nyria asked curiously.

"You will see," Kaida replied without looking back.

They set down before the entrance to the library, and Kaida led her inside. The first room they entered was lined with statues expertly crafted from stone on pedestals. It was a strange mixture of humans, a demoness, and even a giant spider.

"Who are these people?" Nyria asked, but then recognized one of them. It was Stella.

"Important people in the Ashfallen Sect. It would be good for your survival if you morize them," Kaida replied as he continued ahead without looking. "They can be short-tempered sotis."

Aren't you also engraved here over the door? Nyria thought, but simply nodded and burned their forms into her mind. She greatly appreciated whoever made them, as the detail was almost lifelike, and their nas were engraved into the pedestals. The creaking of the second set of doors drew her attention, and she followed behind Kaida and failed to suppress her amazent.

"Woah..."

The cavern was large but not expansive. Dominating the centre was a large demonic spirit tree whose dense canopy was blocking the storm, despite the massive hole in the roof it was growing out of. It was nothing compared to the great spirit tree Ashlock, but it had its own aura of mystery, mainly due to its bark having a glossy sheen and being engraved with runes, as if it were made from ink. The tree also grew from an ink lake that took up most of the space.

While beautiful, what really drew Nyria's interest was the giant bookcase along the left side, filled to the brim with books. Nyria also had a few books stored away that had been looted from human cities. Reading them was one of the ways she found to practice and maintain her ability to speak in the human tongue.

"That's a lot of books," Nyria said.

"Do you like reading?" Kaida said, seeming surprised.

"Of course, all dragons love knowledge."

"You're not a dragon."

Nyria put her hands on her hips and stared at Kaida, "Are you like my brother and the others, too?"

"No, I'm just stating the facts. If you were a dragon, you would have unparalleled talent compared to a human. If you were a dragon, you would have real wings instead of ones conjured from Qi." Kaida said while he floated over the ink lake toward the tree. "That's why you aren't a dragon—you are Nyria, a half dragon, half human. There's nothing wrong with that, so long as you don't try to be sothing you aren't."

"But when I reach Nascent Soul Realm—"

"You can change forms, I know. But if I changed forms into a human, does that make a human?" Kaida asked, and Nyria didn't really have an answer. She wanted to say no, but that would then invalidate her argunt.

"My situation is different, okay?"

"The shape of your vessel doesn't define what you are, your bloodline does," Kaida explained as he carved so runes into a piece of bark. "You are a unique existence, so a label like dragon doesn't really fit. If there were a dragon-only technique, could you use it? Maybe, but also maybe not. I believe you will progress faster if you dismiss these ideas and pursue what works for you. For example, I doubt you have delved much into your human side and relied solely on the thods of cultivation used by dragons. Do that, and you will always be behind even with the help of a pill from Stella."

"I... um..." Nyria was lost for words. Why was Kaida telling her all of this? Why was he... helping her?

"Co over here," Kaida said, and she leapt over the ink lake in a daze. They were now really close, and Kaida put his claw on her chest without warning.

"What are you doing?!" Nyria was shocked from her daze by the touch.

"Relax," Kaida snorted with amusent, "I'm anchoring your soul here."

That did not relax Nyria in the slightest. What in the nine realms was he talking about?

"If you get hurt or almost die, you will reappear here and receive healing. Quill here has many healing, detoxifying, and other support techniques engraved onto his bark. I've also added a condition that it will stop working in a week, as I don't know what Stella plans to do with you." Kaida leaned in, "I just don't want you to die out there."

Nyria felt a heat in her chest and wasn't sure if it was the soul linking or because Kaida was so close. He was absolutely beautiful for a dragon, and his eyes were srizing.

"What is going on in here?" Stella's voice rang out across the room, startling Nyria.

"Nothing," Kaida replied.

Stella narrowed her eyes briefly, looked between them, and finally shrugged. "Whatever, co with . I've got everyone together, and Moros is leaving for the beast tide." Turning on her heel, she left in a flash of white flas.

A silence stretched between Nyria and Kaida.