xkarnation

[Tree] Chapter 504: Tyrant of the Void

As Stella was caught up in the situation from the start by everyone present, her excitement after hearing Elaine's big news regarding her expecting twins soon twisted into rage.

"We just don't know what to do," Elaine said, her head hung low. "One of us will inevitably be sacrificed. Of course, I'd rather it were me over the child."

"No... Elaine..." Douglas said, barely holding back his tears. "I can't lose you. Not to that monster."

With barely contained bloodlust, she tur...

[Tree] Chapter 503: Twins

Ashlock had been reborn as a tree after living as a human for decades.

He became recognized by a human girl as her father, defied the heavens at every turn, built a sect, and became recognized as a godlike being—even going so far as to create his own afterlife. So it was suffice to say that few things could shock him into silence anymore. Yet the announcement from Elaine, something so simple, so human, had done so. And not just him, everyone was wide-eyed, with Douglas being ...

[Tree] Chapter 502: Left Behind

Elaine Voidmind stood at the front of an eager class that was abuzz with excitement and surveyed the room. Every one of the cultivators present, adorned in black cloaks embroidered with a single red eye, had been handpicked by her—they were the elites of the Ashfallen Sect's disciples, having earned that title by displaying an eagerness to learn, high talent, and near-perfect win rates in any duels or tournaments they had entered. While the class had a disproportionate number of memb...

[Tree] Chapter 501: Suspicions

Weeks passed, and Bob grew more terrified of his elder sister by the day.

Not because of her bloodlust, short temper, or general demeanor—no, he feared her insatiable thirst for knowledge and power. Ever since arriving, Bob had been made to participate in one experiment after another. He was fed endless pills, poisons, and, most recently, he served as the conduit for a spatial absorption array to help her minion, Kael, ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm.

However, he couldn'...

[Tree] Chapter 500: Bob

[Congratulations Bob, you have been granted sapience by the Origin of Rebirth]

Bob became aware for the first time. Like the big bang, his new consciousness rippled through his body as all the million individual nodes became connected into one single being. They all pulsed in sync as he had his first-ever thought.

"I'm hungry."

There was a lot to unpack here. First, who was I? Apparently, he had a name... Bob.

"Bob hungry."

No wai...

[Tree] Chapter 499: Primordial Force

Thalos Tessellate returned to his house through the Aether as fast as he could. In a flash of white flames, he materialized inside the meeting hall. His family soon followed, and by their pale faces, he could tell that they were experiencing the same thing—absolute fear.

"Just what was that thing?" Virelia Tessellate shouted.

Yet everyone just looked to the floor, unable to offer a reply. After a long, silent minute, Thalos Tessellate managed to calm his trembling hand and addre...

[Tree] Chapter 498: Nobody Special

Thalos Tessellate couldn't make any sense of the report on his desk.

For three consecutive months, the Tessellate family had failed to deliver their regular shipment of basic supplies and pills to the Citadel. As a floating rock stuck in a spatial storm, they didn't have the means to provide for themselves without assistance from the mainland, so it was a deeply troubling matter.

"Just what could possibly be happening?" Thalos grumbled as he scratched his head. He'd sent out messa...

[Tree] Chapter 497: New Abode

Due to her new home residing next to the destroyed Anchor Pylon, it wasn't exactly hard to find. There was a reason the land and the houses were sold so cheaply.

As she passed through the noble district in the shadows of the Anchor Pylons that towered into the sky, she could see how they created an almost impervious barrier that protected the Citadel from the chaotic spatial storm overhead. If a few more were to fail, the Citadel would likely be torn to shreds. That's why the gaping hol...

[Tree] Chapter 496: Auction

Stella appeared to have stunned Kael into mute silence with the revelation that she had been the one to blow up the Anchor Pylon, which surprised her. Who else had he thought was responsible? It seemed the gears were slowly turning in his head as he pieced together her motives.

They were simple. Nowhere in the Citadel was affordable. Since she had only gathered a small sum of money over the last three months, she needed to find a way to lower the land value.

Kael had mentioned the...

[Tree] Chapter 495: Buying a House is Easy

After three long months, Kael prepared to leave his bedroom a changed man—both mentally and spiritually. He half-expected Stella, the strange princess from a higher layer of creation, to be gone, as it had taken him so long to rebuild his cultivation from the ground up.

Rushing to the Star Core Realm at such a young age had terribly corrupted his spirit roots, and his heart demon battle was one he would never forget. His knowledge of the dao had been fragmented, and only with the help...

[Tree] Chapter 494: General

Two weeks had passed since Stella and Diana entered the Eternal Realm, and Ashlock had not been idle. He was currently out to the north, scanning the land for any stray monsters.

He had been forced to take a more active role in fending off the beast tide due to Stella and Diana's absence. But over the last two weeks, with the assistance of Zephyrine and the other Primal Overlords, the beast tide had finally parted and was now traveling in two large groups around his lands toward ...

[Tree] Chapter 493: Starvation

"What?" Stella questioned as Kael stared at her, the slightest tinge of red reaching his cheeks. "What?" she said again, a little louder. That seemed to break Kael out of his stupor.

"Sorry—I didn't mean to stare," he looked down at the floor.

Stella had no idea what was happening, so she shrugged and focused on packing away her emergency pill-making setup. It wasn't anything like the one she had under Red Vine Peak, but it was good enough to cook up some profound-tier me...

[Tree] Chapter 492: Kael

Kael shivered—he had only seen a glimpse before Stella turned her attention toward the shopkeeper, but that was all he had needed. As a Rift

Kael shivered—he had only seen a glimpse before Stella turned her attention toward the shopkeeper, but that was all he had needed.

As a Rift Born, born into captivity, he was considered a dreg of society by the others stuck here in the Tessellate Citadel. So he had experienced bloodlust more times than he could count while stealing. That'...

[Tree] Chapter 491: Sixth Layer

Stella stood at the mouth of a cave filled with celestial fog, with a confused Diana standing beside her. Ash had told her to come here with

Stella stood at the mouth of a cave filled with celestial fog, with a confused Diana standing beside her. Ash had told her to come here with Diana, saying he had a surprise to show them.

"Is that the Mystic Realm?" Diana questioned.

Stella slowly nodded. "Yeah, I think so? But wasn't it closed for another week or so?"

A chuckle re...

Demonic Tree Light Novel + Job opportunity!

I've got quite an exciting announcement to make today! Demonic Tree is now available in US bookstores in the format of a Light Novel! Look, there we are next to Reborn as a Vending Machine... which seems rather fitting lmao. This actually happened a while ago, but I was warned about possible paper shortages or other issues that could hinder the launch, so I held off mentioning it until I verified its existence.

I'm not making this announcement asking for any sales, ratings, or anything....

[Tree] Chapter 490: Eternal Realm

Diana was taking a much-needed break on the bow of Willow after a few days of battling the beast tide. In her hand were a few beast cores fr

Diana was taking a much-needed break on the bow of Willow after a few days of battling the beast tide. In her hand were a few beast cores from which she was siphoning demonic Qi. Not to refill her Qi reserves—her 9th-stage Star Core passively produced the Qi she needed to endlessly fight these weak monsters—but to progress her cultivation to th...

Shapeshifter

Hey everyone! Shapeshifter is back on RoyalRoad for good!

Check it out here :)

It will be serialized alongside Tree, but it's considered my side project, so it only receives two chapters a week. Since it's currently on the rising stars list, I'd greatly appreciate any reviews or support for the launch, as it's stalled at around rank 4, and I want to make a push for rank...

[Tree] Chapter 489: Tainted Beast Core

Sam's stomach churned as he took in a lungful of the monster's putrid breath. It snarled and lunged to bite at his face, but he barely managed to wrestle it in place by hooking his legs around its head and gripping its maw. He strained as his fingers, coated in earth Qi, barely found grip among the beast's teeth and lips.

"Ray! Are you ready?!" he grunted as his muscles greedily absorbed his Qi and became empowered.

"I'm ready!" Ray shouted.

"Fire now!" Sam shouted, s...

[Tree] Chapter 488: Teaming Up

Sam had only just moved his family from the monster-infested farms and settled them in the more rundown part of Ashfallen City when he was abruptly hailed back to White Stone Peak alongside every other cultivator under the Ashfallen Sect.

Heart beating like a drum in his chest, Sam rushed up the steep staircase lined with demonic trees that twisted and turned up the mountain's edge. He was not alone in ascending these fog-covered steps, passing dozens of other black-robed cultiva...

[Tree] Chapter 487: War

"Who sits above you?" Ashlock asked, hiding the annoyance in his tone. He had expended an immense amount of effort to reach Zephyrine, only

"Who sits above you?" Ashlock asked, hiding the annoyance in his tone. He had expended an immense amount of effort to reach Zephyrine, only to be told she couldn't help him. What was this, some sort of phone call with the bank where he was stuck being endlessly passed up the layers of management until someone with actual authority c...

[Tree] Chapter 486: Ethereal Deer

Stella stood before the desolation portal with a knot in her stomach. Despite being asked to leave Moros, she had been meditating next to Ashlock's trunk, intently listening to the pulse of his soul to get an idea of how the battle was going. The amount of Qi gushing out of his soul into his root network and out into the land was concerning enough, but the sudden immense presence shocked her out of her meditation.

There was no doubt about it—that was the presence of a Monarch R...

[Tree] Chapter 485: Facing a Soul Forest

Ig'Zal had bitten off more than he could chew, and it had begun with getting ahead of himself and thinking he could eat away at the great Zephyrine's mind. While he had caught her in a trance by a stroke of luck, her mental fortitude eclipsed his Qi pool, meaning the moment he ran out of psychic Qi, those memories of him he had overwritten would return.

While he might have been able to escape before Zephyrine regained her senses, he would be hunted down and never be able to retur...

Rewrite of last chapter

Hey everyone! Been a while since I've had to do this. Sometimes I write a chapter, and it doesn't hit the mark you all expect of me and the story. When this happens, I'm also self-reflective and, in some cases, go back and rewrite the old chapter.

In Chapter 484's case, after some re-reading, thinking, and consulting other authors, I figured it needed an edit. While I would suggest a re-read, as I added 800 words of new content, the main change is an overall shift in th...

[Tree] Chapter 484: Brutal Attack

Ashlock had never fought a psychic affinity cultivator or monster before. But compared to someone like Astralis, who could annihilate with the power of the stars, what could a beast with psychic affinity do? Capture his mind? Rewrite his memories? All terrible outcomes, but what could they do against overwhelming force? That was the root of Ashlock's plan—fast and brutal. They would come in, Qi blazing, and ask questions later.

He didn't like how unprepared and flimsy this plan...

[Tree] Chapter 483: Advance

Ashlock retreated from Astralis's ruined mind as requested.

The dragon had undoubtedly suffered from some intense mental manipulation. Despite his outwardly egotistical persona, his mind was a complete mess. If he had to give a metaphor, usually the consciousness of a cultivator or monster on Astralis's level would be an impregnable fortress. Yet, in Astralis's case, the front gate had been blown off, walls were missing, things were on fire, and the ground was littered with potholes whe...

[Tree] Chapter 482: Abomination

Astralis had seen what Veylorak—the Dread Maw of the Molten Depths—was capable of. He was one of the oldest Primal Overlords and had legends dating from before Astralis was even born. For most Primal Overlords, as their cultivation level developed, they could suppress their instincts and think more thoughtfully about their decisions. They even warped their souls to take on human forms, but Veylorak had done none of that. Instead, Veylorak had focused on becoming a living cataclys...

[Tree] Chapter 481: Making a Blunder

On the dawn of the next day, Ashlock awoke from his slumber and immediately went to check on Moros. While he had managed to resist the call of sleep a lot recently, he was still a slothful tree and needed to rest under the nine moons to heal his soul and rapidly recover Qi.

But he was nervous. He had left Moros in Veylorak's territory and Astralis for his sect members to deal with.

What type of scene would he return to? Had a fight broken out, or perhaps Moros had been devoured by...

[Tree] Chapter 480: (Interlude) Returning Home

Sam was returning home—to the farm where it had all begun a year ago. He had wandered off from home and encountered a monster that had hunted him down. As he cowered under a rock, facing death, Stella saved his life at the last possible moment. That night, his life was put on a new path.

One where he would overcome his weakness that had led him to need saving.

He had been given a delusional goal: to climb Red Vine Peak, and in return, he would be taught the secrets of cultivatio...

Book 7 Cover Art

Finally got the cover for book 7! It's based on the scene of Stella walking with Ryker down the floating steps from Moros to confront the Silverspire family.

[Tree] Chapter 479: Daughter, why do you want me dead?

Ashlock had known Astralis was huge due to his vast shadow lurking in the storm last time, but he would have never guessed the dragon was this massive. The dragon utterly dwarfed Moros despite the flagship being a hundred meters in length. What had been even more terrifying was how such a titanic creature could teleport out of nowhere and now held Moros in his claw like a vulture would hold a captured egg.

Cosmic Qi crackled around Astralis's claws, spatially locking the flagsh...