Year 11, Day 85

Beneath Deadly Sun

Flashback 

It was a majestic sight. 

The moment they spotted it from afar, Jhin De Zhi thought he had gone crazy. After all, it's not every single day that you see this much green in the middle of the dull yellow sands and the sharp dark pale brown rocks of the Endless Desert of the Fhenzi Region! His eyes widened when all the Rottenwoods took off running, they had these smiles on their lips that stretched wide and were very creepy for their thin and lithe body. Even the little kid that was holding the floating green bunny looked creepy as fuck! Jhin De Zhi ordered his subordinates to keep a steady speed forward as they approached the trees… And just to make sure everything was real and he wasn't dreaming, Jhin De Zhi slapped his own face. 

“Huh, awake?” Yeah, this wasn't a dream! His eyes glowed golden with greed and he felt the opportunity to make a fortune grow in his hands. Cultivators from the entire Coazin Continent would come running to him to get the best ingredients to make pills, they would crawl and beg for his goods, and the food they could produce- Oh Gods, he will be rich! “Hahahaha-” Jhin De Zhi started laughing, really envisioning his future as he looked down at the soft pale white flowers that grew from a small bush near this big and dark brown tree. He began tearing the flowers away because they carried Nature Qi within them, meaning they were worth something! He looked around, analyzing everything his eyes landed on- right beside the tree there were these long roots that pushed their way out of the ground, and on these roots these deep brown mushrooms grew. They had a thick aura of Earth Qi within them, and Jhin De Zhi could tell that they had about Foundation Formation cultivator levels of Earth Qi. At least on the 2nd Stage! “Just imagine what those fuckers from the Enkian family would pay for these!” 

Everyone knew that the Enkian family's cultivation method was rather slow. They grew in power really slowly, but their power was steady and their body was greatly enchanted alongside their cultivation. Everyone knew that the Enkian's skin was like thick stone, sturdy and resistant to a thousand attacks. Jhin De Zhi himself has fought against an Enkian before, and he was fucking annoying to deal with and he ended up using more Gold Qi than he was comfortable with, but in the end he got what he wanted either way. “So many things!” They weren't even deep into the forest and yet he could even see these small animals, these Demonic Beasts that were small birds. They were really annoying to deal with, considering they always fly in a flock of a thousand, overwhelming their enemy with their number when their average strength is at the Qi Gathering Realm at least and the Foundation Formation Realm at best. “...as long as I don't provoke them, then the Thousand Cut Sparrows won't attack me.” 

They're the definition of the phrase “Death by a thousand cuts.”

His subordinates took a bit of time but they arrived at his location with the carriages. It wasn't easy to get the carriages following a path, as the wilderness was in the way and there is no way in hell that Jhin De Zhi is wasting his precious Qi that would need a fortune to replenish (or take months if he allows his core to generate his spent Qi) his Qi! He looked at his subordinates and all of them had these stupid smiles on their faces. Jhin De Zhi took a few seconds to make sure that they were all there, he nodded and snapped his fingers, getting the attention of everyone present: “So, everyone, begin collecting as much as you can-” 

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.” 

A voice spoke from above them, it was a cold as ice voice, carrying hostility and disgust along with its freezing tone. The Rottenwoods made noises of shock, gasping and shouting as they turned to look at who spoke, and with curiosity, Jhin De Zhi turned to look to. Floating above them was this man… He had pale green hair that hung down to his feet, his skin itself was green too, and he was wearing this dark green robe with white and black cloth belts to tie around his body. On his waist he carried two scabbards, each with its own sword, and he looked at Jhin De Zhi and his subordinates like they were insects- or that was the impression he had, because clearly he disliked them and was hostile towards them to an extent. Jhin De Zhi's merchant brain buzzed with questions he wanted to ask and information he wanted to gather as quickly as possible, but he decided to just listen as the floating man spoke, voice cold and uncaring: “You enter my father's forest and dare to disrespect it. You tear apart the flowers with your own bare hands, you mock his very existence by even thinking of taking everything you can grab. Your greed disgusts me.” 

‘Oh, so it's one of those types of cultivators.’ They were the least cooperative and the ones he least liked to deal with, seeing as they disliked people like him. They disliked greed and extravagant riches, seeing as they grew in an environment where they cherished every single ounce of food and every drop of water they could get, they can't seem to fathom that others would want more than they need to survive. They see it as greedy and disgusting. “Uhm, I'm sorry-”

“Ahmi Chiang greets you young master.” Out of nowhere, Elder Rottenwoods- or Elder Ahmi Chiang Rottenwoods as was her full name -kneeled before the floating green man. Her knees sank into the soft fallen leaves that gathered at her feet, her hands touched the fertile earth that this beautiful sign of hope grew on, and her forehead touched a soft pink petal. Following her example, all the other Rottenwoods took a bow and then bent their knees, resting their foreheads against the ground. They stayed like that for a while until the green man's voice soon spoke: “...My name is Leaf, and I am the First Born of the Patriarch of the Heavenly Spirit Forest Sect, Green Guardian of the Endless Forest-” It wasn't very visible, but the moment he spoke those words, the air almost seemed to shiver as a weight dropped on their shoulders. The entire forest seemed to come to life in an unfamiliar way, and the Rottenwoods could feel the curiosity and awareness of the trees around them. 

They were watching them.

“-and Elder of the Nature Branch of the Heavenly Spirit Forest Sect, say your name and state your business.” His voice carried authority, his presence warned them that they were in the lands of a Sect. A Sect was something, honestly, rare. It took a lot of effort and resources to keep a sect up and running, since sects were more of a gathering of cultivators that followed the sect leader's orders and worked together. Depending on the sect, whoever wished to enter the sect had to meet the requirements of the sect, and generally that made Sects more a luxurious thing in this cursed world. 

A cultivator would stab someone in the back if they had something the other wanted. 

Which is why Sects fell from grace and cultivation families grew in “popularity”. It's way easier to trust someone you grew up with than trust this random guy that just joined your little group by meeting the same requirements you had. 

“We, the Rottenwoods, have come here to beg- Please, accept us, struggling and hopeless humans under your sect. We are, as I know you can tell, Nature Qi Cultivators… Due to the scarce Nature Qi in this cursed world, for generations we have been struggling to grow. We have developed a technique that allows us to transform Death Qi into Nature Qi to help us cultivate, but it requires the rotten flesh and corpse of anything we can find…” With her forehead still on the ground, Elder Ahmi Chiang spoke. Her body was shivering from the sheer emotion she was feeling- And it wasn't just her. All the Rottenwoods were crying and shivering as they felt the forest “hug” them. It was like this warm blanket of Qi wrapped itself around them and they felt welcomed, they felt like they finally found where they belonged. 

They found a missing piece of themselves, and it made them whole. Like they were a long lost child, returning to the embrace of their beloved father, who received them with open arms and open heart. 

“I beg you, please, let my family join the sect-” Sadly for Elder Ahmi Chiang, Leaf cut her off before she continued her plea for mercy. Mercy for the situation her family has been trapped in for generations: “I am sorry, little saplings, but that decision is not mine to make… Raise your heads and get on your feet.” At his command, all the Rottenwoods got to their feet in an orderly manner, the older ones had to have help from the youngsters to get up. “Tell me, lost saplings, how have you found my father's forest? You seem to have come from afar, very far.” 

“Uhm…” A small child, with frail and thin arms lifted his trembling hands with great effort and floating above his thin and pale hands, was this small green glowing small bunny. The moment Leaf looked at the small softly floating green bunny, he knew exactly how they found this place- they were guided by one of his lesser nature spirit siblings. He lifted his hand and the small bunny floated away from the hands of the child, and like he had his own gravitational field, the small green bunny started to spin and float around him, making these soft squeaking sounds- soon, more and more small floating green animals started to float around Leaf's body. “Ah, so you found one of my siblings it seems.” In awe, the Rottenwoods couldn't help but gasp as the thousands of small Lesser Nature Spirits started to spread around them, each and every single one of them was a small animal that the majority of the Rottenwoods couldn't really indentify. 

Meanwhile, Jhin De Zhi was only able to observe. He and his subordinates watched with the same awe the Rottenwoods were feeling, but instead of having that growing respect and adoration for the spirits and nature around him, Jhin De Zhi could only feel his greed grow. Only a single one of these Nature Spirits was worth a fortune, because other Nature Qi Cultivators would do anything for a Nature Spirit! They were extremely rare and it helped them a lot, because it was common knowledge amongst Rogue Nature Qi Cultivators or Cursed Kin Nature Qi Cultivators that a Nature Spirit can generate Nature Qi naturally. 

Secretly within his mind, he was already planning on how to capture a few of these spirits to bring them with him when he leaves this place and goes back to Veloah Region, back to the Golden Greed Guild headquarters, he can speak to the Lady of the Golden Hand about this place and the Gollan Housa can take over this forest and use its resources to increase their riches! 

Ah, right. 

His name is Jhin De Zhi, born to Melloah Zhi and Jhin Gollan- He is the bastard son of the now patriarch of the Gollan Family. His mother has long passed away, and he has sworn revenge on her. He wishes to destroy the Gollan Family, but that old man is almost a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. In fact, Jihn believes that he will ascend within 100 years or so. 

While he is hundreds and hundreds of years away from even getting a glimpse of that realm. 

But this forest… It was an opportunity. 

He will get stronger. He will get his revenge. He will become the richest man in this cursed world. 

DaoOfGay

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