Initial Spirit Realm

The moonlight was hazy, and the waves rippled.

It was an endless ocean. At its center stood a cliff-like mountain, resembling a natural moat. It looked like a sharp sword thrust into the vast sea, with mist curling around it and enveloping the entire immortal mountain.

Atop the immortal mountain stood a pavilion and tower in an ancient style. Layer upon layer of buildings was wrapped in clouds and mist, appearing and disappearing beneath the moonlight.

The entrance was a huge stone archway. The seal script at its top had been worn blurry by the passage of time. A road to the heavens, carved along the mountain itself, passed through the hazy clouds and mist, running from the mountaintop down to where the mountain met the sea.

Fang Xiu stood beneath the mountain gate archway, gazing at this world. At a glance, it seemed to stretch endlessly, but Fang Xiu knew that it was all fake—a phantom.

The Spirit Realm Fang Xiu had truly constructed consisted only of this pavilion and archway. Everywhere else was illusory. The moment one entered, one would discover that they were merely wandering around in circles, forever stuck in the same place. Just like this celestial mountain road wreathed in immortal aura, no matter what, one could never reach its end.

This was the result of Fang Xiu's efforts over the past while. He no longer waited for the spirits of flowers, plants, trees, and animals to descend. He had even taken the initiative to seize the souls that were about to merge into Gaia Consciousness.

Borrowing the power of the Necro Tree, he had reached beyond the Nether Tree Realm and seized the scattered spirits nearby. At last, he had gradually forged this rudimentary Spirit Realm.

"It'll all grow bigger in the future. One day, this Spirit Realm will become as large as Earth—or even larger."

The sky was clear for thousands of miles, with only the Silver Moon hanging above. The Necro Tree remained in its original spot, but because of the surrounding illusion's changes, it now looked as though it stood at the edge of a sheer cliff.

During this time, Fang Xiu's spirit value had risen bit by bit from seven points to nine. He had gradually finished cultivating his original Illusion Transformation Art and was preparing to cultivate his second spell, one he had copied and comprehended from the magical structure of the Tree of the Undead's innate ability.

"Dream Ingress Art!"

Fang Xiu decided to slowly study and practice this spell within the Nether Tree Realm. The difference between the flow of time here and in the outside world was enormous, giving Fang Xiu ample time to experiment. He would also be less likely to be disturbed.

Sitting atop the mountain peak, on the cliff behind the pavilion and towers, Fang Xiu quietly listened to the waves striking the Sword Peak beneath his feet. Clouds and mist shrouded the entire immortal mountain, swirling around him.

This scenery, like a self-contained paradise, and the music of nature drew Fang Xiu involuntarily into the calmest and most composed state.

Fang Xiu sat cross-legged beneath the enormous Necro Tree on the cliff. Iridescent light slowly flowed from his hands as he gradually constructed a special soul structure.

The special spell structure slowly rose and merged into Fang Xiu's soul. In an instant, Fang Xiu opened his eyes and saw a dreamlike radiance connect with the entire Nether Tree Realm.

This was the Necro Tree's Dream Ingress Art. Taking one's own Spirit Realm as its core, it could invade another person's dream—or pull them into one's own Spirit Realm World.

Fang Xiu opened his eyes and immediately saw two points of light not far from his Spirit Realm World. At once, the entire Nether Tree Realm sprang into motion. As the Necro Tree's branches swayed, limbs like ghost claws began to dance.

Two spiritual lights flickered and fell, descending from the pitch-black sky like stars and dropping into the Spirit Realm.

Meanwhile, Chen Jin, who had originally been lying in the underground secret chamber, vanished from her bed. Black Fiend, who had been snoring in her little nest, let out a startled cat's cry before immediately closing her eyes.

Chen Jin stood beneath the enormous mountain gate archway, looking around helplessly. Looking down the mountain, she saw a terrifying cliff. The mountain road wound down around it, and merely walking along it would probably make anyone's heart tremble with fear.

In the distance lay an ocean with no visible end. Before Chen Jin could figure out what had happened, a cat's cry suddenly came from beside her.

"Meow, meow! Where is this?"

Chen Jin turned around and immediately saw a naked girl with black cat ears on her head following behind her. As she spoke, two little fangs showed in her mouth.

"Who... are you?" Chen Jin asked coldly and tonelessly, forcing out a few syllables. She sensed a familiar scent from the other girl, but still could not understand who she was.

The cat-eared girl turned her head and glared at Chen Jin. "I am King Black Fiend! The fiercest, strongest—King Black Fiend!"

"..." Chen Jin's perpetually expressionless face finally revealed a trace of astonishment.

At that moment, Fang Xiu walked out from the pavilion above. He pushed open the ancient wooden door, crossed the stone-paved corridor, and came to welcome the two of them.

Fang Xiu was not surprised when he saw Chen Jin. But when he saw the cat-eared girl beside her—especially the fact that the cat-eared girl was not wearing any clothes—his expression changed at once.

He looked toward Chen Jin. "Who is she?"

"It's me, Master!" The moment King Black Fiend saw Fang Xiu, she leaped toward him just as she always had, utterly unaware of anything unusual.

"Monster! Stop!" Seeing her naked body bounding toward him as though she still believed herself to be a little cat about to climb onto him, Fang Xiu reflexively smacked her on the forehead and knocked her down.

Fang Xiu examined her carefully for a long while before finally realizing that this creature was actually Black Fiend, the black cat he had raised as a lab mouse for his experiments.

"This is a female cat?"

Fang Xiu frowned as he studied the cat-eared girl sprawled on the ground. Then he flicked his hand. As power flowed and transformed, it draped her in a white robe.

"You two, come inside with me!"

Black Fiend and Chen Jin followed behind Fang Xiu. They passed through the first floor of the pavilion and arrived at the cliff behind it.

Black Fiend was rubbing her little head nonstop, glaring angrily at Fang Xiu and Chen Jin. Her two tender white feet stamped repeatedly, just as she had before, with her hyperactivity already at its terminal stage. At the same time, she kept looking left and right, taking in this place that resembled a celestial paradise.

"Wow! Master, you're really an immortal?" Black Fiend followed close behind him. In the blink of an eye, as forgetful as ever, she seemed to have forgotten the grudge over Fang Xiu hitting her. Every so often, she even tugged at Fang Xiu's white Daoist robe.

"Quiet! Otherwise, I'll stew you when we get back!" Fang Xiu turned and glared at Black Fiend, immediately making the creature settle down.

Although Fang Xiu had not expected Black Fiend to be a female cat, he had merely been surprised for a moment. That was all. Even if she was a female cat, she could forget about receiving any special treatment from Fang Xiu.

The Necro Tree at the edge of the cliff had changed somewhat compared to before. Fang Xiu's main soul, which had merged into the Necro Tree, had also begun attempting to transform this miraculous tree. At the same time, because a strand of Fang Xiu's main soul had merged into it, the Necro Tree had gained part of Fang Xiu's innate Soul Domination ability.

Fang Xiu had already been constantly studying the Necro Tree's power and structure, thinking about how to transform it according to his wishes, so that it could grow faster and more vigorously and provide him with even greater power.

Fang Xiu wanted to use the method he had previously employed to create Spirit Seeds, allowing the Necro Tree to naturally bear Spirit Seeds. That way, it could not only create more beings possessing the Three Souls Seven Spirits, but those beings could also draw power from Gaia Consciousness through the Necro Tree.

This would continuously strengthen the Necro Tree and accelerate the speed at which it devoured Gaia Consciousness. At the same time, beings born from the Necro Tree's Spirit Seeds would also be branded with the Necro Tree's mark.

While alive, they could not escape the Necro Tree's control. After death, they would still answer the Necro Tree's summons, merging into this Spirit Realm and becoming part of the Nether Tree Realm's power.

Of course, it sounded rather frightening. But think about it: they could live for as long as they were meant to, wield power while alive, and continue existing in this Spirit Realm after death. Aside from protagonists who proclaimed, "My fate is mine, not Heaven's," most people would probably fight tooth and nail for such a wonderful deal.

Fang Xiu converted his method of creating Spirit Seeds into a set procedure, then constructed a spell structure and merged it into the Necro Tree.

He immediately saw the Necro Tree's bark change incessantly. Its black branches stretched outward, and entirely different white leaves began to grow. The leaves continued expanding, growing, sprouting, and blooming.

The white flowers withered and turned into dust that fell into the soil. Finally, translucent fruit formed on the Necro Tree.

Within each translucent fruit, a Spirit Seed resembling a baby sat cross-legged.

Fang Xiu turned and looked at Chen Jin. "In your current state, you will truly dissipate one day. Do you still want to live? If you merge with this, you can keep living forever!"

"Or do you think it would be better to dissipate?"

"Ah!"

The moment Chen Jin heard words like dissipating and death, she became exceptionally tense. Fear and panic surged across her face as she looked around in bewilderment, as though searching for her radio—the only thing that could make her feel safe. Yet she could not find it anywhere.

She grew even more frantic.

"I don't know! I don't kno..."

"Where's my radio? Why can't I find it? Mine..."

It was just like when Fang Xiu had first met her and told her that she was dead.

Yet Chen Jin babbled on, sinking into memories of the past. After a long while, she suddenly raised her head and saw Fang Xiu's face. Her entire person instantly quieted down.

"Fang... Fang..." Chen Jin called out for a long time but could not say Fang Xiu's name.

Fang Xiu said it for her. "Fang Xiu!"

It was the first time Fang Xiu had seen her express her desire so clearly. Her eyes were filled with a yearning for life. "I... I want to live."

A smile appeared on Fang Xiu's face. "I understand."

Fang Xiu waved his hand, and one of the fruits high above floated down. With a light flick of his finger, it immediately merged into Chen Jin's soul.

Chen Jin stared in astonishment as her body radiated multicolored light and slowly floated into the sky. Her entire soul structure underwent wondrous changes, while great swaths of radiance writhed around her.

Fang Xiu then looked toward Black Fiend. Since she had already merged with a Spirit Seed, she could not merge with another one. Thus, Fang Xiu plucked a fruit, drew out the fruit inside, leaving only the outer layer of light, and slapped it into Black Fiend's forehead. This allowed her to establish a connection with the Necro Tree as well.

"I won't ask your opinion. Your cat life is just going to be spent living foolishly anyway!"

The ghost and the cat only awoke after a long while. They immediately sensed a wondrous passage connecting them to this Spirit Realm, as though they could return here at any time through that connection. They also sensed that through this passage, they could link to a Sea of Light that seemed to have no end.

Fang Xiu turned his attention to the Necro Tree and discovered that it had grown slightly larger. Moreover, the root that had originally drawn the underground Sea of Light had been alone. Now, two more slowly grew out, making three in total.

"Does every life branded with a mark become a root?" Fang Xiu understood the reason for this change in the Necro Tree.

He turned around and stood at the edge of the cliff, filled with high spirits, as though everything had only just begun in slow motion—and as though he was finally setting out on a journey.