Reborn as a Demonic Tree

As the mountain was enveloped in the darkness of dusk, Ashlock observed Stella drawing lines on the ground with a paintbrush in one hand and a pot of black ink in her other.

Ancient runic symbols painted by Stella surrounded him, which his {Language of the World} skill seemed to automatically translate in his mind.

As Stella went about her work of writing the ancient runic language onto the ground with the paintbrush, Douglas was watching from the sidelines and offering advice when Stella asked for it.

However, his guidance proved disappointing. His initial lecture on runic formations had been helpful to Stella, but his knowledge beyond the basics was limited. It became clear that Douglas's expertise in runic formations was superficial at best, as though he had acquired the skill merely to pad his resume and secure higher-paying jobs without actually being proficient.

"So you really know nothing about the ancient runic language?" Stella inquired as she continued painting. Considering the size of the formation she wanted to create, Douglas had advised using his techniques to create the grooves rather than the handheld artifact he had given her.

Douglas shook his head, "As I said, those old fogies obsessed with runic formations learn it, but I've never been one to hole up in the library and study dusty books. All my runic knowledge was picked up here and there while working the trade."

Stella grumbled to herself, and Ashlock could tell the little bit of respect she had built up for Douglas this afternoon had vanished. Although Stella was uneducated due to her circumstances, she was a curious and bright girl who picked up things quickly. Because of her intellect, she did have the natural snobbish attitude studious people have toward muscle heads, which he could relate to.

Back on Earth, he was the type of guy to spend most of his time glued to a chair playing games or studying. Perhaps that's why he reincarnated as a tree? It suited him, to be honest.

Setting down the ink pot and brush, Stella stepped back and scrutinized her work. "Are you sure there isn't a way to specialize this Qi gathering formation for a tree?" She asked her unhelpful assistant, and as expected, Douglas shrugged. Ashlock had concluded Douglas wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Diana, who had remained on the bench the entire time, gave her two cents, "Spirit trees cultivate with both their leaves and roots, right?"

Ashlock decided to confirm that with a flash of Qi.

Stella hummed to herself in thought, and then her eyes widened, "I think I got it! So this runic formation just gathers Qi and traps it within the area above the formation, right?"

"Right..." Douglas replied, clearly unsure of where Stella was going with this.

"So, is there any way to send the gathered Qi into the stone below so Ash can absorb the Qi with his roots too?" Stella asked excitedly.

Douglas rubbed his chin. "It could work—defensive formations make use of transfer arrays to channel the gathered Qi to a storage array. In this case, you could just treat the tree's roots as the storage array and make use of several transfer arrays..."

Stella beamed. "So, how should I do it?"

"I will make the engravings super deep to reach the tree's roots and ensure the engraving is wide enough so there's room to add more engravings on the inside wall, which can be the transfer runes. You could also inlay it on top of the surface Qi gathering runes, but it can muddle the meaning of the runic words and make them less efficient."

Douglas then added gravely, "But this formation will be extremely expensive. At least a hundred, if not a thousand times more spirit stones will be needed than what you used for your personal Qi gathering formation. The sheer size of this endeavor is hard to fathom."

Stella waved him off as she walked back to pick up the paintbrush. "The Patriarch's cultivation is priceless. He is the pillar of the Ashfallen sect. If he had abundant Qi to work with, the entire sect would prosper, and a few mere spirit stones are laughable in comparison."

Amusingly, the first person to agree with Stella's assertion of Ashlock's importance was Larry, who had been quietly waiting off to the side of the mountain peak. The giant spider would have been crawling around his branches, but since he was ten times his original size, Ashlock doubted his branches could even support the colossal creature's weight.

"Master's recovery comes before anything else!" Larry stated gruffly, and Stella nodded to the giant spider. "See, Larry gets it."

Diana and Douglas, both c

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