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[Tree] Chapter 120: Revealing the Truth
🕑 Added 2023-06-05 17:25:50 +0000 UTCAshlock knew there was a slim chance of getting denied by Elaine. Hence he had offered her two options, but it was a little unexpected that she had openly stated her support for her bloodline while standing before her Uncle's killer.
"I obviously know almost nothing about Elaine, but I had been under the assumption that most cultivators in the demonic sects were willing to backstab family in favor of power." Ashlock mused as he glanced over everyone standing before his trunk, awaiting his decision. "Perhaps she is this against saying an oath because she hasn't actually seen my cultivation resources yet?"
Either way, she was stupidly stubborn, overconfident in her value, or incredibly naive. To speak in such a way to someone so much more powerful than her while surrounded by foes truly baffled Ashlock.
"Unless..." His gaze shifted to Douglas and Elaine's hands. "Is Douglas giving her the confidence to defy me?"
If so, wasn't Douglas technically defying his oath of loyalty indirectly? Shouldn't the heavens be striking him down? Or were oaths more subjective to the individual than he had first thought? If Douglas believed in his heart and soul that he was not betraying him by trying to win Elaine over to the sect, then what was he to do?
Ashlock honestly found this whole situation a massive headache and a great annoyance. He had just survived a near-death attack by a Star Core worm, and he needed strong, reliable people around him to prevent more incidents like this from occurring in the future.
Yet, sect politics were getting in the way, and he couldn't have Stella fully manage the sect as some of her worldviews and ideas were still immature due to her unique upbringing and young age.
And to put Diana in charge would infuriate Stella and strain their relationship.
"I'm getting off topic." Ashlock sighed, "Alright, let's take this one step at a time. Elaine is valuable as a sect member. She has a lot of knowledge I greatly lack, and void affinity is one of the most fearsome things I have ever encountered. If I wasn't immune to it due to my divinity, I would have had my eye ripped out and chopped up into logs by that Voidmind Elder."
With Elaine established as valuable, Ashlock needed to figure out a way to bring her over to his side without excessive force, as that would strain his relationship with Douglas, who had been a relatively loyal and hard worker thus far.
"Although she is only valuable to me if she is loyal and doesn't speak about me to her family. Eventually, I will become strong enough to have no fear of the Voidmind family, but until then, I must sadly rely on oaths, as disloyalty is far too risky."
Ashlock knew he acted rather paranoid, but as a tree that could not move; he already had enough things trying to kill him without having his existence known to anyone outside his tight circle. He would eradicate loose ends until the end of time. Arrogance was the greatest killer in a world like this.
"Since oaths are not as secure as I had first thought, it's best to try and win her over through rewards and kindness, although I will still request for an oath of secrecy." Ashlock mulled, "Unlike Douglas and the Redclaw Grand Elder, which are rather replaceable, Elaine has both useful knowledge and a super strong affinity, so it's worth going the extra mile to reel her in."
Ashlock sighed once again as he came to a decision. He would need to figure out a better chain of command and a way to bring new talent to the sect. There was no way he would interact personally and try to win over hundreds or thousands of people like this.
He glanced at Stella and ruled her out as someone who could handle that task. Diana also wasn't fit for the job, nor was Douglas, Elaine, or any of his guardians.
"Oh... I should get the Redclaws to manage this in the future."
The answer had been so obvious. Elaine was a special case, but he would definitely make the Redclaws handle sect recruitment in the future. "Anyway, time to give my decision. Let's hope she agrees..."
***
Elaine felt sick.
She put on the strongest facade she could, but this was the most stressful situation she had ever faced in her entire life. Her father had warned her about oaths. They were basically slave contracts usually used by cultists or shady individuals who didn't want information leaked, as those with a true purpose or the strength to back up their words did not require heaven's interference.
Although she didn't say it out loud, she was beyond skeptical about this whole thing, especially once this supposed immortal that wasn't even showing himself brought up an oath.
Yes, she may die here due to her arrogance, but in her opinion, that was far better than betraying her family and being a slave to the person who had murdered her Uncle.
They said my Uncle paid for his life because he tried to fight this supposed immortal. If he really is dead, there's a good chance there is someone inside or below that weird tree more powerful than my Uncle, but there's also a chance my Uncle is still alive, trapped somewhere, or was caught by surprise. So all I have is their word that he is dead and deserved it.
What Elaine needed was time.
She needed to find a way to somehow delay being forced into saying an oath of absolute loyalty. With time she could uncover the truth behind this Ashfallen Sect to deem whether it's worth betraying her family for and pledging her eternal loyalty.
And if the whole thing turned out to be fake, as she suspected, there was the upcoming tournament where she could get her brother to save her.
She just needed time. Only fools signed a one-sided deal.
They said you were valuable. Otherwise, they would have just killed you earlier.
Elaine squeezed Douglas's warm hand. His looming presence gave her a thin strand of hope.
A moment passed, and a wave of anxiety washed over her as she saw that stupidly pure spatial Qi write words she couldn't understand.
"The immortal wishes to avoid a war with your family." Stella slowly read out. Clearly, she wasn't fluent in the mysterious language and had to translate the words one by one.
"Therefore, he believes reciting an oath of secrecy regarding your involvement with us and what happened to your Uncle is reasonable. In exchange, he will give you a cultivation resource and welcome you into the sect."
Elaine bit her lower lip and flexed her fingers. An oath of secrecy was much better than one of loyalty.
If my family can somehow figure out what happened to Uncle without my help, then I won't be forced to fight my family alongside my Uncles killer. This gives me a lot more flexibility and options while still allowing them to cover their backs. Smart. I must be missing something here... but I can't figure out what.
Her mind raced, and she debated asking to be given a day to mull over her thoughts, but on the other hand, she felt like she was about to pass out from stress and nerves. Although they had been more hospitable than expected to a prisoner, she was still pushing her luck.
This oath gives them peace of mind while also giving me more time. It should be fine...
"Immortal, I accept your oath of secrecy." Elaine stepped forward, releasing her hand from Douglas. "Tell me the exact terms of the oath and to whom I should recite it."
Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she could hear it in her ears as soul-fire words manifested on the black trunk of the tree.
"You will not mention or try to convey anything regarding the Ashfallen Sect, including its members and activities, to anyone not recognized as an Ashfallen Sect member." Stella slowly read out. "Furthermore, you will never disclose what you know about your uncle's disappearance."
There was a short silence as the words vanished and new ones materialized.
"As an oath done under the heavens, failure to abide by the sworn oath will result in the crippling of your cultivation." Stella then gestured toward the enormous spider that had hunted her down, "And Larry will be sent to dispose of you."
Elaine gulped, and to make matters worse, the trunk of the tree suddenly cracked open like an accursed maw, and through the darkness peered an eye that was incomprehensible to her mind. It made her feel like there was a soup of eyes invading her mind, as they superimposed on each other in an eternal cycle that made her dizzy.
A shadow loomed over her, dispersing the visions plaguing her mind and giving her a moment of salvation. She felt vomit rise up her throat, but she barely managed to keep it down. Her breath was shaky, and sweat dripped from her forehead and clouded her glasses.
The shadow loomed closer, casting her in darkness. Apprehensively, she looked up, wiping her glasses with quivering hands, and came face to face with Stella, the blonde-haired girl. Her mask was removed, and she could see her perfect skin and crazed pink eyes that seemed to glow with power.
"You have gazed upon the immortal and know the terms of the oath." Stella said with a smirk, "Now recite the oath to him so we may move on from this nonsense."
Elaine looked past the crazy person taking up the majority of her view at Douglas, who was standing off to the side. He seemed apprehensive about stepping in to help her here.
He must fear this girl somewhat. If I don't recite the oath, I really fear she will stab me in the throat.
Elaine stood up on shaking legs and looked straight at the tree. She slowed her breathing and thought back to that unsettling gaze.
"I, Elaine Voidmind, pledge secrecy to the immortal of the Ashfallen Sect. I will not mention or try to convey anything regarding the Ashfallen Sect, including its members and activities, to anyone not recognized as an Ashfallen Sect member. I will also not disclose any information I know about my Uncle's disappearance to anyone."
As the final word left her mouth, she felt a pressure from above gaze down on her as if heaven had taken an interest in the oath. She had never heard of any mention of this phenomenon before.
She then felt as if phantom chains had wrapped around her Soul Core, and she instinctively knew in the back of her mind what would happen if she broke the oath.
Her death would be inevitable.
***
Ashlock let out a long sigh of relief. Of course, it wasn't the perfect outcome, as he would have much preferred an oath of loyalty, but this should be good enough for now. He wanted allies that would cultivate immortality and surround him for eternity, so creating a divide between his sect members this early on by forcing Elaine with an ultimatum of loyalty was a terrible idea.
"Larry." Ashlock said through the tether, "Continue to keep an eye on her."
He thought about adding that Larry should kill Elaine if she betrayed him, but he didn't trust the spider to discern what counted as a betrayal.
Receiving a grunt of agreement, he watched as everyone surrounded the newest member of the sect. With the reciting of the oath, as agreed, she was now a member just like Douglas.
Diana also removed her mask and pat Elaine on the shoulder while appraising her with her dull eyes.
"D-Diana, right?" Elaine asked as Douglas moved in to stand beside her.
"Yeah, that's me," Diana said flatly, "Welcome to the Ashfallen Sect."
She then raised the snake, "This is Kaida. He is one of the immortal's pets."
Elaine apprehensively patted the large snake on the head, earning a hiss.
"Wait... since when did Kaida finish his evolution?" Ashlock only now noticed the large snake coiled around Diana's shoulders.
While Diana spoke with Elaine, Stella sneaked over to stand beside Ashlock and whispered while distorting her voice with spatial Qi. "Should we tell Elaine about the truth? That you are the Patriarch? If we have Elaine hanging around us all day, one of us will inevitably let it slip by accident."
The paranoia in the back of his mind wanted to lock Elaine up in the cavern and tell everyone to ignore her to keep that information secret, but he acknowledged that wasn't possible.
"Best to get it out of the way," Ashlock grumbled and flashed his leaf once to tell Stella it was alright to proceed. Of course, he expected Elaine to become skeptical, but hopefully, offering her a skin improvement truffle would convince her that almost everything else wasn't a lie.
Stella strode over to Elaine, "I have a confession to make, Elaine."
Elaine shrunk back into Douglas's side, clearly quite terrified of Stella.
"Yes...?"
"The Ashfallen Sect is ruled by its Patriarch, Ashlock." Stella gestured to the demonic tree lording over the mountain peak, "Although we tell everyone there's an immortal that rules the sect, that's technically not true... although the tree is sort of immortal."
Elaine tilted her head, a frown forming on her face. "So, what are you implying?"
Douglas laughed heartily as he patted Elaine's back, "It means these nutters take orders from a fucking tree!"
Stella crossed her arms and glared at Douglas, "You do as well."
"I know!" Douglas wiped a tear from his eye, "It's still hilarious to me, but I have to admit, he is one bloody good Patriarch."
"I don't understand!" Elaine tugged on Douglas's arm but became distracted as the stone cracked open nearby her foot, and a root poked out. Growing on its tip was a single truffle.
Stella plucked the truffle and handed it to the confused Elaine. "Go back down to the cavern with Douglas and consume this truffle. It will make your skin as perfect as mine and Diana's."
Elaine's eyes went wide as she glanced between the maskless girls. She then clutched the truffle close to her chest and gave Stella a small nod.
Ashlock was curious to see her reaction and enthusiasm regarding the Ashfallen Sect once she had consumed that truffle. However, in the meantime, he needed everyone to do things while they waited for the Mystic Realm to open up again.
"I need Douglas to integrate Elaine into the sect and explain things to her, and then I need him to help Stella with the formations. Ideally, I want both the concealment and Qi gathering formation completed within the next three days."
Ashlock wrote out his orders on his trunk in lilac flames, and Stella relayed them to everyone.
Opening a rift to the cavern below, Elaine stepped through without delay, and Douglas gave Ashlock a hearty grin and thumbs up before following.
"At least he's happy." Ashlock chuckled and watched as Stella wasted no time returning to work on the concealment formation, which was by far the most important right now, as he didn't have the Qi spare to maintain the spatial distortion technique.
"I must keep some Qi in reserve and refill my Star Core in case I get attacked again. As for the worm..." Ashlock shifted his view to the wilderness, and sure enough, the monstrous worm was loitering below the wall of demonic trees, likely for the same reason it had been there the first time.
It was hunting to regain its strength.
As within just an hour or so, there was already a small gathering of monsters. All of them were weak and unlikely to provide many sacrificial credits, so Ashlock left them alone.
"Best to leave the bait out to keep the worm happy and away from me." Ashlock mused. He was still excited to capture and kill the monster for all those juicy sacrificial credits, but that would have to wait for now. He needed his sect to become stronger first.
"Tree!" Stella hollered from the side of the mountain peak. "I need your help with the runic formation!"
"Oh yeah, I was helping her before the whole worm incident." Ashlock found the giant sword dumped off to the side, picked it back up with a black vine from his {Consuming Abyss} skill, and returned to work.
[Author Note]
A compromise has been reached, and a new person officially joins the sect!
Comments
Victor DoUrden
Needs to auction of them pretty skin truffles
ShadeByTheSea
Also I judge characters by their origin, A character born and raised in the Sect can act against our "modern sensibilities" and I wouldn't judge them as harshly as someone from our world. It's kinda like Monster MC stories, if the monster had a human life before hand and starts acting like a total evil monster I won't read that story. But if the monster MC was always a monster I might be willing to read it.
ShadeByTheSea
I think people forget that "humanity" is only called that because we only know about humans. In this context it refers to the second definition which is a synonym of benevolence which even trees can have.
Vladimir Merritt
But that's the difference... hate and fear... 2 different points of view
Also he’s fully a (demonic) tree now, not a human. His soul changed and everything. So it would make sense that his “humanity” and modern sensibilities get twisted
Comparing IRL management to a sect leader where people regularly kill each other for resources. We just saw an entire clan (= company in your analogy) get killed by two other clans. That would be “illegal collusion” and the government (patriarch/heavens?) should step in. Except nobody cares! Murder and steal all you want! It is a demonic sect lol. And Ella literally just said she feels affection for her family taking care of her. Anyway I don’t care if he doesn’t kill her (although there’s way better oath to do like I said above), but the oaths seem pretty nerfed now if they’re *not* enforced by the heavens.
Me
It's not actually all that clear how exactly oaths are enforced by heaven or by wich metric heaven judges wether an oath is broken or not. And things like "loyalty" are extremly subjective things. I'd even say that the oath of secrecy is a much more rigorous oath than the loyalty oath sworn by douglas since the terms of the secrecy oath are much clearer and thus leave less wiggle room. Also, we and ash know that the only voidmind family member that is likely to meet ella any time soon is one of her brothers for the alchemy tournament. And while we know nothing about that brother, we and ash know that ella is pretty much a discarded child. In a world this harsh it's unlikely that there are tight family connections even between siblings and especially with a discarded child. Yes, it's a bit of a gamble but it's not too dangerous as long as ash has diana keep a close eye on ella until that brother of hers leaves again.
Me
i'm not sure wether the mystic realm is right for her. We technically speaking still don't really know how it works. It seems that whoever enters the mystic realm will find a world that is, while still dangerous, perfect for the dao they cultivate and the realm they are in. However, that is far from really confirmed so far. Furthermore ella entering the mystic realm would be quite pointless before she had a spirit root improving truffle and i'd say it's still far too early for that.
Basically God
Plus... I never took you for a coward!
Barnabas_11
Again, someone uses argument irrelevant for this story and situation, the oaths to Ash are enforced by havens as such they cannot be manipulated and he doesn’t need to care. It’s not our world, I don’t know why you read this story if you can’t even think about this.
Melting Sky
Only imbecile makes their subordinates actively hate them. It's basically shooting yourself in the balls in that it will eventually come back to haunt you the moment you are at your weakest and your back is turned. The girl would obviously choose death over enslavement, so the only option was to shoot himself in the foot and gain nothing by killing her or gamble a bit while hedging the bet to limit potential losses while opening a good possibility for serious gains. Also, you better pray you are never placed in management. You would get eaten alive. I would give it a year before your tires started getting mysteriously slashed and a large dose of LSD ended up in your coffee while those above you reamed your ass for having an employee turnover rate 3 times as high as anyone else and abysmal numbers as a result.
ShadeByTheSea
Stockholm syndrome actually is on rather shaky ground. It's not actually an officially recognized condition(at least in america). That doesn't mean it's not real, just that it's not proven without a doubt. I just found it interesting that it's not as solid as TV shows would have us believe. Honestly though it is totally possible for someone you captured to become a trusted ally. It's happened in history a lot. She's less a kidnap victim and more a captured enemy. Where the line between kidnapping and taking prisoners is idk, maybe there isn't one and all prisoners of war are actually kidnap victims. This is especially true in this culture. If she doesn't have to betray her family and can get resources to advance than more than likely she'll have a positive view of them long term. The rape victim turned lover thing some Chinese novels do does need to die with fire though. I've been lucky enough to avoid most of those novels though. In the end though none of that really matters, I would rather read about a somewhat nice but naive character than some a-hole but scheming character. As a rule I kinda hate paranoid characters.
@enderman but it’s been shown that the oath can be bypassed to some extent as long as you believe you’re not breaking it... So can she self-hypnotize and then she’s not breaking the oath? 🤔
XKARNATION
Hold up… you might be onto a stroke of genius here
Human2849
Get bigger sword?
XKARNATION
Ye
Vladimir Merritt
That's where the fundamental "truth" is broken... as a kidnapped and under the ever hanging threat of death over the captive cannot make sense to be turned into a "family" member... its that weird tag of rape victim turned lover or whatever in the disgusting Chinese novels...
enderman
The fact that she is so happy about the skin improvement truffle instead of any other cultivation resource shows how naive she is and that she is used to having a powerful individual next to her all the time. She needs a wake up call. Possibly in the [Mystic Realm] fighting for her life?
enderman
If she believes that they are a sect member reveal information but she is a smart girl so that’s unlikely.
Koza0
Thank you for the chapter! I'm intrigued how their inner dynamics will continue to form, and the brief insight into Ella's perspective was very revealing.
Putrescent Ego
Can't say I'm a massive fan of this outcome Sir, but we shall see where it leads down the line, thanks for the chapter.
IMO, if he wanted to be “nice”, he should’ve given her a truffle with weak effects to get her interested and more willing to do a more restrictive oath. And if she was worried about fighting her family, let that be part of the loyalty oath that she won’t be forced to fight her family but can’t betray Ashfallen sect, or she can’t leave the mountain without permission, etc. Oath of secrecy seems pretty weak. EDIT: Also curious about vagueness of “recognized as an Ashfallen Sect member” means.. if someone just says they are, can she spill the beans? Lol
Barnabas_11
There is a reason the world is like it is and Ash is too weak to try doing risky things.
Demian Buckle
From my perspective, Ash probably knows that what he has done is risky but he knows that if he is to prosper in the future he will need more than allies, he will need friends and family. People who support each other not for gain but because they care about each other. This sort of relationship is counter to the current cultivation world and is something that can not be built through fear or intimidation but by trust and kindness.
XKARNATION
Thanks for the edits! Regarding the soul stuff, there are things worse than death. She is just rather sheltered and naive.
Human2849
There's something about the flow of the chapter that feels a bit off to me. It also feels like you read the comments on the last chapter, tried to address them in this chapter and thus there are parts that seem a bit choppy. --- > and chopped into the wood by that Voidmind Elder." Should probably be "and chopped into wood by that Voidmind Elder." > He glanced at Stella and ruled her off as someone Should probably be "He glanced at Stella and ruled her **out** as someone" > to deem it worth betraying her family for Should probably be "to deem **whether it's** worth betraying her family for" > Apphrensivly, she looked up, wiping her glasses Should probably be "**Apprehensively**, she looked up, wiping her glasses" > "Oh yea, I was helping her before the whole worm incident." Should probably be "Oh **yeah**, I was helping her before the whole worm incident." --- > Yes, she may die here due to her arrogance, but in her opinion, that was far better than betraying her family and being a slave to the person who had murdered her Uncle. So it sounds like this universe doesn't have people who can manipulate souls? Otherwise I'd assume Ella, daughter of a prominent demonic cultivator, would know about such cultivators. In some other cultivation novels there are cultivators that tourture/search for souls so they'll become vengeful spirits and use them in combat, like in soul flags and such. If I had to choose between servitude and becoming fuel for a soul flag I'd definitely choose the servitude.
Tetrisman87
Glad to see her added to the sect. Honestly showing a little care is probably the best move as it'll be a stark difference to her own family. I'm sure that truffle will be a huge help as well! As always, thanks to the wordsmith!
Demian Buckle
Thank you for the Chapter.
Barnabas_11
+ why would we even care if he became toxic boss, what we care is that he and his family is safe and not dead and not well-being of other people who still get benefits so massive that being unhappy should just be seen as ungrateful and spoiled. I would be very happy to work in super-toxic environment if at the end of the year there is equivalent of 1 bln $ in my account
Barnabas_11
1. In your story loyalty is NOT subjective it’s objective and the one deciding it are havens, which is whole point of why I find oath in this story as powerful tool. And if it’s not the case then you need to rewrite all your chapters about oaths because that’s how it’s portrayed. 2. Ella is NOT a recruit. She is an enemy who they are trying to recruit so don’t come on me with some corporate bullshit if it not relevant in this situation. 3. Douglas is also NOT a typical recruit. But is rather “bought” and forced into sect.
XKARNATION
Loyalty is subjective, even when overseen by the heavens. In Douglas's eyes, Ella was very helpful with setting up the alchemy lab in the cavern and is a good companion for him as Ashlock/Stella/Diana are already a tight nit trio, and he was brought on alone as a grunt worker. He wouldn't see trying to get Ella to join the sect as against his loyalty as he sees only benefits to her joining. However, he did step aside and let Stella intimidate Ella slightly once she had said she would sign the oath. If Ella were to betray the sect or refuse to take the oath, Douglas would have (somewhat reluctantly) turned his back on Ella and stood with the Ashfallen sect. You are wanting Ashlock to not act like a "pushover," but senseless enforcing of power would turn him into a despised tyrant rather than someone people actually wanted to follow (regardless of whether an oath forced them or not). You basically want him to act like a toxic boss/government that enforces soul-binding contracts and punishes people when they don't somehow mind-read him and obey his every (unspoken) order.
Barnabas_11
1. Making thing difficult for ash is not absolute loyalty. + Leaders need to do it because they do not have access to oaths govern over by havens. If someone task resulted in lower efficiency because of his personal emotions then his oath would have activated. 2. Why would they make her one if nothing changed other than her not being able to talk about them, I see plenty of things she can do to fuck them up. 3. Show that she was right to disobey him and embolden her to further scheme against them. She would already killed herself if she didn’t agree under threat of death. 4. Every leader would know that correcting an unwanted behavior should be made when it happens aka when they saw Douglas standing on girl side, or as soon as possible after the situation aka after she recited her oath.
XKARNATION
Worm is rather big to cut with a sword… 😂
Basically God
Could just wield the sword against the worm! Thanks for the chapter~♥
XKARNATION
1. Because Douglas is someone who has sworn complete loyalty to him, and making him miserable would be counterproductive? Only a leader lacking any social skills would enforce decisions that made everyone involved unhappy and divided. 2. She's part of the sect now. Why ostracise and separate her from everyone else? 3. What does Ashlock gain from making an ultimatum? He wants to surround himself with allies that trust him and ones he can grow alongside throughout the realms. Ella already said she wouldn't agree to an oath forced upon her through fear. 4. This will likely be explored in future chapters but now was not a good time to pull him aside. Theres more important things to worry about right now.
Barnabas_11
Ash, made all the good conclusions, and then went and choose the worst possible choice to end the situation. With no other reason than for author to make him more “good/kind” or to show us that despite everything he went through he is still an idiot. 1. Why the fuck would he care what Douglas thinks. Look more like cheap excuse 2. This whole situation shows that allowing Douglas near her is bad, so of course let’s make them spend even more together. Idiotic. 3. Why was this a proposal and not ultimatum? You are just emboldening her even more. 4. Why wasn’t there anything said about Douglas treading a fine line with his oath. Even if Ash is a pushover and a “kind/stupid” then Stella according to her character should have taken him to the side for a “talk” about his priorities. 5. Even the oath, Ash went for the least invasive one to show how he care more about kindness than his own friends and family. I’m pretty sure that knive to the neck while in meditation still kill you even if you are whole stage stronger than atacker. 6. Why suddenly everyone treat her like a friend if she just can’t talk about you, but can still very much scheme against you. Especially if she met someone wise enough to understand that there is something that she can’t talk about and collaborate with him to let him understand without breaking the oath. She is supposedly very smart so if I can came up with it I’m pretty sure she can to.
Andrew
Thank you!
