[Tree] Chapter 319: Life in the Ashfallen Sect (Patreon)

(Author Note: Mister Choi was the earth cultivator who sold Douglas to the Ashfallen Sect back at the start of book 2)

Mister Choi shook his head in shame as he looked at himself in the cracked mirror. It had hardly been a few weeks since Douglas showed up at his noodle shop with a heavenly contract and a proposal he couldn't refuse.

Just maintain control over Ashfallen City's underworld for us and complete a few tasks. How hard could it be? Or so I thought...

Even in the dim blue hue provided by the glowing mushrooms overhead that grew throughout the mine, he could see the bags under his eyes. He had never even heard of a 9th-stage Soul Fire Realm cultivator having bags under their eyes, but he had done the impossible.

"Ugh," Mister Choi pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a long, tired sigh. The personal brand he had built up as the big Boss of the Golden Springs noodle shop with his terrifying gaze and broad body that loomed over most would be ruined at this rate. Now, he just looked like every overworked mortal on the darn council. "What was his name again? Julian? I'm going to start looking as exhausted as that poor bastard."

"Boss!"

Mister Choi froze. He turned his head to look at his door and held back yelling, 'Leave me the hell alone for a day!' Instead, he gathered himself and replied deeply, "What is it?"

"Grand Elder Douglas and Grand Elder Elaine of the Ashfallen Sect are here to see you."

"Oh great, more nonsense requests." Mister Choi muttered under his breath as he grabbed his signature purple silk robe embroidered with golden koi hanging from a stone hook. Wearing it and giving himself one last check in the mirror, he strode over and opened the door to his subordinate—an almost equally tall and broad earth cultivator, his right-hand man.

"Gavin, let's walk and talk." Mister Choi took the lead, and Gavin fell a step behind. "I'm sure Grand Elder Douglas will ask about our control over Ashfallen City. How is it?"

"Everything is running smoothly, Boss. A few stragglers from Darklight City tried to move into the upper south side. But the former nobles of Slymere living there had their hired rogue cultivators inform us, and we dealt with it."

"Good," Mister Choi nodded. "Make sure to keep security tight around there. The Princess's disciple's mother lives on the upper south side, and if anything happens to her, I am sure there will be hell to pay."

Gavin gulped, "Don't worry, Boss. We have all heard the rumors of how Princess Stella slaughtered the last batch of rogue cultivators she deemed an eyesore. I have my boys patrolling that area, and there is always someone from the Redclaw family cultivating nearby."

Those lousy red-haired Redclaws nobles are bloody clueless. Their cultivation levels are oddly high, but their answer to every problem is blasting it with flames. They are a bunch of hotheaded idiots. Mister Choi thought to himself before agreeing with his subordinate, "Mhm, that's for the best. What of the shadow mistress?"

"Rumors of her generosity spread far and wide, so the shadow dryad has become more selective with whom she gives fruits to," Gavin sighed, "Some of the more hot-blooded youngsters gave a bad impression, so now the shadow mistress flattens anyone she doesn't deem worthy of her fruits with her mere presence before they can even step foot on the field of white flowers."

Mister Choi let out a hearty chuckle, "Serves those fools right. I knew the shadow mistress was being too generous, and it was bound to backfire, but to think she could be so fierce."

"You thought the guardian of the ethereal root that leads to Red Vine Peak would be weak?" Gavin smirked as he caught up to Mister Choi's pace, "Honestly, I am just surprised she hasn't killed anyone yet."

"As am I," Mister Choi agreed as they left the lower levels and began their ascent up the long tunnel to the surface.

"Mo'ning Boss," the many rogue cultivators under his command bowed respectfully as he passed. Some were carrying boxes of food to the boys below, who were busy mining spirit stones, while others were dashing up the tunnel with a sword resting on their shoulders as they headed out to work for the day.

Mister Choi answered their greetings with a slight nod, but that was it. He didn't know most of them by name, as his gang had to rapidly expand to maintain their stranglehold on Darklight City while also moving into Ashfallen City. It was hard work, and he disliked the ghostly chains wrapped around his heart that enforced his loyalty to the Ashfallen Sect. But with the resources he was being given, it was impossible to be mad about it. Soon, he would step into the Star Core Realm.

"Oh Gavin, one last thing..."

"Yes, Boss?"

"How's the blockade on information leaking going?"

A long time ago, the Redclaw Grand Elder had paid a significant amount of spirit stones to the mortal council overseeing Darklight City. In return for the investment, he requested that no information regarding anything strange happening on the mountain range be reported to the Blood Lotus Sect. As the mortal council loved having the Redclaws as their new overlords, they went to great lengths to silence anyone, even blocking many airship routes.

They had naturally approached Mister Choi with a portion of the funds for his assistance in keeping the rogue cultivators of Darklight City quiet. He didn't have everyone under his thumb, but after a few raids and slaughters, the other gangs got the message.

Anything that happens on Red Vine Peak? It might as well be my imagination! Yep, nothing to see there.

"The mortal council requested more funds to pay off people regarding the event last week." Gavin grimaced, "As you can imagine, the attendees of Darklight City's Academy from other noble families were rather eager to report back what they had seen. It's not every day you see such an aggressive ascension. It was like a god descended, ya know?"

"What was Ashfallen's response to the request?"

Gavin grinned, "They threw so much money at the problem that I think they almost crashed the economy, and the poor mortal council was beyond overwhelmed." Gavin laughed. "I heard a rumor that half of the mortal council's income now is from the Ashfallen Sect, and they have to spend it all on suppressing information."

"So? Are they?"

"Yeah," Gavin nodded, "They constructed the most outlandish building I've ever seen to house a dedicated department for the task and have started constructing arrays around the city that block jade pendants. Which, might I add, is an absolute waste of money. Those pendants can only reach Slymere at best, so anything they transmit there and have relayed to their families in other cities will be seen as rumors at best by the Nightrose family. 'Oh yeah, all this crazy shit is happening in a random mining city at the edge of the sect' as if they would believe that crap. The Nightrose family is terrified of getting assassinated outside their stronghold, and the Disciplinary Committee is busy."

"True, it does feel like a paranoid countermeasure," Mister Choi grinned, "Yet, that's always been the solution these noble families and sects use. Throw obscene amounts of money at the problem until it goes away."

Gavin shrugged, "Better than them having to stroll down from their lofty mountain peaks and waste their Qi smiting down the mortals that dare to defy them. And to be fair, I have never seen the mortal council move so fast to get something done before."

"True that." Mister Choi turned and patted Gavin on the shoulder. The poor lad looked even more exhausted than he did. "Good work today. Take the rest of the afternoon off and spend some time with your wife. I fear she will chop down my door with an axe if I give you any more work."

Gavin smirked knowingly, "Thank you, Boss. I will ensure she is satisfied and stop causing you problems."

"You dirty dog," Mister Choi grinned and continued walking toward the surface. "Now get out of my face and keep the noise down. Those stone walls aren't as thick as you think they are."

Gavin's laughter echoed through the tunnel as the large man returned to the dark depths of the mine.

Mister Choi gathered himself by straightening his robe and posture. If it was just Douglas I was meeting, I wouldn't be so concerned, but whenever he brings his girlfriend, it's always some complicated task that goes over my head.

Emerging into the afternoon sun, his eyes readjusted, and he saw Douglas and Elaine waiting near the tunnel's entrance. Douglas was wearing a spotless beige suit and that strange stone crown encrusted with gems that had an ancient feel to it. A black cloak hung from his shoulders, and one of his hands rested on a shard of brown crystal shaped into a walking stick. Interlocking arms at his side was the stunningly beautiful Elaine wearing a casual light grey dress embroidered with a subtle black decal of flowers around the chest area. She was beaming and had her hair tied up in a ponytail, which was odd for her.

Mister Choi mustered up all the social energy he could and put on his signature smile as he strode over to them with measured steps.

"Ah, Boss Choi!" Douglas called as they made eye contact.

"Grand Elder Douglas, my friend! It's so good to see you!" Mister Choi clasped hands with Douglas and was pulled into a brief shoulder hug. As they parted, Mister Choi gave a slight bow toward Elaine. "And, of course, Grand Elder Elaine, it's a pleasure to see you as well."

Elaine gave a curtsy, "It's good to see you, Boss Choi."

"Ha ha, please don't call me that," he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "I like it when my men call me Boss, but it almost feels like a pet name coming from you two. Please call me Mister Choi."

Elaine smiled, "Sure."

"Thanks," Mister Choi looked between the lovebirds, "You two seem in better spirits than usual. Did something good happen?"

The two exchanged a knowing look, and Douglas awkwardly laughed, "We actually just came back from a date at the Voidmind estate in Darklight City."

"Woah, no way?" Mister Choi knew of the residence in the noble district. Due to the layers of defensive formations and guards, it used to be one of the most mysterious houses in the entire city.

"Yeah, my Mother gifted it to me," Elaine added casually, "I complained to her that Douglas has been overworked the last week since the ascension with helping Stella create temples for the All-Seeing Eye cult, so she suggested we have a relaxing weekend there together."

Elaine pulled Douglas in tighter, but the man frowned, "You also promised your Mother that I would meet her."

"No way." Elaine pouted, "It wasn't a promise, just a strong suggestion. Not my fault if she tries to follow up on it."

"Errr, is that really a good idea," Douglas looked genuinely concerned.

"It will be fiiiine," Elaine waved him off, "Maybe..." she trailed off at the end.

Mister Choi stood there awkwardly, unsure what to say. He didn't even want to imagine what Elaine's mother could be capable of. He knew his place in the world, and he may rule over many rogue cultivators, but compared to the noble families, he was nothing but trash. They were the true titans of this world, able to decimate entire cities and slaughter millions on a whim. He was merely a bug that played king in their backyard. Even if he gathered all he had earned in his entire life, it wouldn't equate to a fraction of the value of the Voidmind residence in Darklight City, and yet it had been gifted to Elaine to simply fulfill a weekend date?

"Anyway," Douglas coughed to draw Mister Choi's attention, "While we were passing through, I wanted to invite you for a drink."

"A drink?" Mister Choi's eyes widened, "You're not pulling my leg, are you? I swear if you suggest a drink and then spring more work upon me, I am not going to be a happy chap—"

Douglas put his hand on his shoulder, "Brother, how could I do that to you? Trust me, I got the good stuff."

"Spirit wine?" Mister Choi asked with a whisper.

Douglas leaned in closer and grinned, "The very best. Brewed it myself."

Mister Choi narrowed his eyes as his excitement faded, "You... brewed it yourself. What do you know about brewing spirit wine?"

"He had Stella help him brew it ages ago and has been excited to try it for weeks," Elaine mumbled, deliberately loud enough for both of them to hear.

"Spirit wine brewed by the princess of the Ashfallen Sect?" Mister Choi gulped, "How could I refuse such an offer?"

Some bad wine is nothing compared to keeping my head. Imagine if she learned I turned down the opportunity to drink her wine—forget me—would anyone I know survive?

"Great, let's head over then." Douglas took the lead with Elaine in tow, and Mister Choi walked beside them. They drew many curious gazes as they strode down the main street of Ashfallen City.

In the short time he had lived here, Mister Choi had witnessed an impressive boom as this place transformed from something resembling a slum to a somewhat charming and clean city built with wide tree-lined streets. Also, it was never cold due to the blanket of heat caused by the fire Qi flowers growing in the trees.

One thing that had changed very recently was the sharp increase in people walking around in black cloaks with a red eye decal on the back.

"Praise be the all-seeing gaze," a charming woman said as she approached a nearby couple out for a walk with their child. Curious, Mister Choi channeled some Qi to his ears to listen in.

The couple gave a weary smile, and the father stepped between his family and the cultist. "Good afternoon. What can I do for you?"

"My name is Maya, and I am a representative for the All-Seeing Eye! Sir, have you ever wanted to be a cultivator?"

"Um..."

"Who hasn't, right?! Well, we are offering our members the opportunity to become cultivators!"

"What? Huh?"

Maya pushed a package into the confused man's hands. "This is our welcome package. It contains enlightening pills that will open your mind to the whispers of heaven! Ever wondered how cultivators are so powerful? With this, you will learn the truth!"

"The truth... wait, how much is this?"

"Free!" Maya grinned. "However, inside, there is a parchment that details how to pursue the path of a cultivator under the All-Seeing Eye. Our first service is actually tomorrow at midnight. Trust me, you don't want to miss it. Okay, have a great day!"

With those parting words, Maya ran off, her hair flying in the wind as she hunted down the next group of mortals she spotted, leaving the man holding a box of pills and looking very confused.

As Mister Choi followed Douglas up a path that led to the shadow mistress who guarded the ethereal root, he couldn't help but ask.

"Whose marketing idea was that exactly?"

Douglas smirked, "Stella's, obviously. She's convinced it will work, and it's not like her father will tell her no."

"The immortal of Ashfallen won't tell her no?" Mister Choi furrowed his brows, "Actually, speaking of the immortal, as your Boss, won't he be mad to find you drinking on the job?"

"Nah, he works me to the bone and has a skewed sense of reasonable requests, but he's usually quite forgiving," Douglas said as he took a left and began walking up the steps that lead to the upper south side, "Though I doubt he will even notice."

"Why not?" Mister Choi asked. How could an immortal being not know everything going on?

"His attention is so split nowadays between multiple cities, battles, and even worlds. I suppose, when one has a level of control that vast, it's only natural for most events to slip under one's notice," Douglas's eyes lit up, and he turned with a grin, "Actually, perfect example. Recently, we fought a war in Nightshade City—details are not important. But the immortal owns a walking mountain, right? He had no idea the Mudcloaks had outfitted it with an entire city and weapons until the moment he went to deploy it. I swear if someone doesn't report things to him, he has no idea what's going on."

Mister Choi had many questions but decided to simply hum in agreement. It's pointless to try and understand noble families and sects. I thought the gang war I fought last week in Darklight City's East Side was quite neat, but it was probably a child's fight compared to this one Douglas describes if a walking city was involved.

Glancing over his shoulder, he looked down at the street. To his surprise, the mortals were actually inspecting the box's contents and reading the many parchments inside. Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.

"Sup Nox, how's it going," Douglas shouted to the shadow tree in the distance, surrounded by a field of beautiful white flowers that seemed to part as they walked.

From behind a tree emerged an enchanting beauty of pure darkness. The shadow mistress floated elegantly above the field like a spirit toward them with a casual smile. Mister Choi had laid eyes on her in the not-so-distant past before the ascension, and she had looked like some sort of wraith that would haunt people's nightmares. However, now, she looked like a goddess crafted from shadows with surprisingly human features.

Mister Choi didn't like being before the shadow mistress. She made him nervous.

"Douglas... Elaine... welcome back," Nox said with a pleasant tone. Yet her smile turned to a frown as her swirling eyes of darkness landed on him. "Mister Choi, your men—"

"I am aware of the issue and sincerely apologize," Mister Choi bowed as deeply as his joints would let him, "Please feel free to punish them as you see fit if they are to continue. I don't need fools under my leadership who don't know boundaries."

"Very well," Nox replied simply as she floated away, "My flowers do need some nourishment."

"Lady Nox is wise. It's a death befitting those who try to harm your peace," Mister Choi readily agreed as he straightened up. Ugh, all the blood rushed to my head, and I hate having to speak so stiffly to these nobles.

Thankfully, he was granted a peaceful passage and could follow Douglas and Elaine down into the ethereal root. No matter how often he used it to get around between the cities, it still amazed him that he could take a few steps and appear many miles away.

Reaching Red Vine Peak, he climbed out of the hole and felt a divine presence envelop him.

"Ah, it's good to be home," Elaine said while sniffing the air, "This fresh mountain air and Qi were sorely missed during our weekend getaway."

It's a bit more than fresh. This is straight-up divine cultivating conditions. I practically feel myself reaching enlightenment just walking around this place—holy shit, that is a giant tree.

The entire sky until the horizon was seemingly dominated by a dense canopy of scarlet leaves, bathing the empty mountain peak in an autumn-like red hue. The charcoal-black tree trunk was at least a hundred meters in diameter, and he had to strain his neck to trace its towering length. Divine energy swirled up the tree like a river of liquid gold, merging with crackles of spatial Qi that danced between its many branches.

"Don't stop and stare at the tree for too long; otherwise, the immortal will notice us and give us more work to do," Douglas hissed under his breath and dragged him along to a hole that dominated the center of the peak.

Mister Choi remained in silent awe as he descended through a vertical city inhabited by the Mudcloaks he had briefly worked with in the past. Arriving near the lowest level, Douglas stood before a doorway blocked up with stone.

"Bob, it's me. Roll aside."

Mister Choi wondered why Douglas was speaking to a wall, but he soon discovered the answer when the stone rippled like water and turned into slime—or was it always slime? Either way, the slime monster he assumed was called Bob moved aside and let them pass into an expansive chamber overflowing with rare cultivation herbs.

Douglas grinned as he ran over to a table piled high with books and empty pill bottles. Pushing it aside to make space, he gestured for Mister Choi to sit opposite him.

"One moment, I need to find where Stella hid the booze."

"Hid?" Mister Choi asked. He couldn't imagine Stella was the type to get drunk... actually, most of her actions aligned with someone drunk on power.

"Well, I convinced her we were making a type of potion," Douglas explained as he crouched down and rummaged through a cupboard under a nearby table, "And she isn't the most organized person, so she must have put it somewhere random..."

Something loomed out of the darkness—a creature of twisted black vines that obscured limbs ending in claws and glowing blue eyes emerged. Why does it look strangely like a giant Mudcloak? Mister Choi wondered and could smell earth Qi from it, though not as strong as his own.

"Ah! Here it is." Douglas accepted the offered bottle from the creature, and it wordlessly lumbered back into the cavern to tend to the herbs. Douglas then put the porcelain bottle usually used to contain potions on the table, and his spatial ring flashed, producing three crystal glasses.

"If you are trying to poison me, we didn't have to go through all this effort." Mister Choi said, half joking as he eyed the setup.

Douglas snorted as he popped the cork and poured the luminescent blue liquid, "You think I would bring out the crystal glasses if I thought you would fall over dead with it in your hand? Actually..." Douglas had a flash of regret, "This shit is really strong. It might fuck you up real bad."

The two exchanged a glance and then burst out laughing. "I sure bloody hope it fucks me up! If it doesn't make me regret waking up tomorrow, then it wasn't worth the trip over," Mister Choi said as he raised his glass, and the three carefully clinked their glasses.

Downing it in one gulp, Mister Choi felt it go all the way down as the infused Qi wine burned his throat and ignited his Soul Core. The flavor was intense, and the burn was even better. He felt his spirit roots opening up, and a feeling of ecstasy ran down his spine. I'm in heaven.

"Whoooo!" Elaine planted the glass down. Her face was already flushed red, and her glasses almost fell off her nose, "That's the good stuff."

Mister Choi had to agree. It was the best darn spirit wine he had ever fucking tasted in all his years. The Princess really can do anything.

"What are you three doing?"

Mister Choi turned to see a demoness stroll in. Her giant feathered wings collapsed into her back as she eyed all three of them.

"Erm... drinking?" Douglas said hesitantly.

"Great, pour me a glass," Diana said as she pulled up a chair beside Mister Choi. "Oh, I was actually looking for you."

"Me?" Mister Choi asked, trying to stop his voice from stammering.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask if you would be entering the Mystic Realm that's about to open."

[Author Note]

Wow, that was quite a long chapter. I had a load of unresolved plot threads piling up that didn't feel that interesting to have Ashlock just glance over, so I decided to tie them all up in this chapter instead.

A list of some of them: Mister Choi being hired by Douglas to manage the rogue cultivators.

Information blockade.

A week-long time skip and showing the cult activity.

How lives of people in Ashfallen City have improved.

Nox's ascension to Nascent Soul Realm.

Douglas and Elaine's relationship developing + voidmind residence in Darklight City is finally being used.

Bob! A slime Ent that hasn't been seen since he became a door...

The Mudcloak that was turned into an Ent but never really got mentioned.

Etc...

Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing. Until the next chapter!