Immortal Druid

[POV: Lu Jing]

The ruins of the Serenity Cliff Sect still smoldered beneath the sky, shattered cliffs hanging precariously over the valley after the earlier explosion had ripped the mountain apart. Chunks of broken stone floated in the air from lingering spiritual pressure, while rivers of molten rock glowed between the cracks below, until they shortly reached the lake. At the foot of the ruined sect stood Lu Jing, his robes fluttering gently despite the absence of wind, his dark eyes fixed upon the silver-haired youth suspended before him.

He found Wo Li fascinating.

Truly fascinating!

“Wo Li, is that right?” Lu Jing murmured softly, almost tenderly, as he reached out and held the silver-haired man’s cheek. “Even your name is mysterious. Oh, I like everything about you…”

Wo Li’s body was motionless under the suppressive force of Lu Jing’s Immortal Art. Looking at him closely only deepened Lu Jing’s obsession. There were no spiritual roots within the body. No core. No trace of conventional cultivation. Yet this very person had reached a level of strength that surpassed reason itself.

It made Lu Jing’s heart burn.

The Immortal Art coursing through his veins had only recently become complete after he finished the ritual. Even now, he still found it unbelievable. The medicinal remnants left behind within the pill had been so overwhelming that devouring an entire sect’s worth of cultivators had allowed him to forcibly bridge the gap between Soul Transformation and Immortal.

Normally, such a leap would have required a long time.

He would have needed to consolidate laws, seek enlightenment beneath heaven and earth, and survive countless Heavenly Tribulations before even glimpsing immortality. Yet now he stood beyond that realm already.

Immortal.

The word itself intoxicated him.

“Who are you?” asked the old man kneeling nearby, his voice trembling with fury and grief as he stared toward Wo Li. “What did you do to him?”

Lu Jing glanced over lazily and recognized the old man immediately. Guo Yimu’s grandfather. The remnants of his host’s memories still lingered faintly within him, enough to stir the slightest hint of sentimentality.

Thus, Lu Jing decided to indulge him.

“My Immortal Art has trapped him within an abyss,” Lu Jing said proudly. “Right now, Wo Li is drowning beneath eternal loneliness. No sound. No light. No companionship. Only endless isolation crushing his mind for eternity. Even if a thousand years pass outside, he will continue screaming inside that darkness alone.”

His smile widened.

“And the amusing part is that this is merely one aspect of my Immortal Art.”

Guo Yupin slowly rose to his feet.

His eyes had turned bloodshot.

Spiritual pressure exploded from his body as killing intent surged outward like a storm. The floating swords behind him trembled violently before arranging themselves into formation.

“Return my grandson!” Guo Yupin roared.

Lu Jing laughed openly.

“Foolish old man,” he sneered. “You still don’t understand your place before an immortal.”

The swords shot forward.

Guo Yupin rushed at him with everything he had left, grief and rage consuming all reason.

“Die, you monster!”

Yet Lu Jing merely flicked his hand.

Guo Yupin’s head separated cleanly from his shoulders.

Blood sprayed into the air as the old man’s corpse collapsed lifelessly onto the ruined earth, the swords losing all spiritual light before clattering uselessly across the ground.

Lu Jing no longer smiled.

His gaze returned toward Wo Li with growing hunger.

What exactly was this body?

How could someone without spiritual roots or a core possess such monstrous strength? What secret hid within him? Lu Jing felt increasingly certain that Wo Li possessed a path beyond immortality itself.

Then there was the Shén.

That existence alone made Lu Jing’s heart pound with greed.

In his original era, the Shén had been elusive, almost impossible to obtain or even locate. Yet now one had practically fallen into his lap. Of course, not yet, but it was quite close. Fortune itself seemed to favor him after his resurrection and attaining immortality.

Still, first came curiosity.

“Just a little bit of a peek wouldn’t hurt,” Lu Jing muttered.

He extended his hand toward Wo Li’s chest, spiritual power gathering at his fingertips as he prepared to dissect the body before him.

However, something suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Lu Jing froze.

“That’s not nice,” said Wo Li.

No.

The instant their eyes met, Lu Jing understood.

That thing was not Wo Li. Malice twisted behind the silver-haired figure’s smile. It was ancient, hungry, and wrong. The pressure radiating from him no longer resembled any cultivator Lu Jing had ever encountered.

Fear prickled across Lu Jing’s skin.

“Who are you?” Lu Jing asked sharply.

The figure leaned closer.

Before Lu Jing could react, his own arm was suddenly forced forward. His hand plunged directly into the figure’s chest as though dragged by an invisible force.

Lu Jing’s eyes widened.

“I’m the monster,” the figure whispered.

Crunch.

Lu Jing screamed as his arm was severed instantly.

The detached hand disappeared into the figure’s chest, growing a huge maw. Flesh tore. Bones shattered between teeth. Blood splattered across pale lips as the creature chewed leisurely while staring directly into Lu Jing’s horrified eyes. Just as quickly, the maw disappeared.

Lu Jing stumbled backward violently, immortal flesh writhing as a new arm regenerated from the stump.

The silver-haired monster burst into laughter.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!” The creature clutched his stomach while laughing so hard tears streamed from his eyes. “Free! I’m finally free!”

He pointed at Lu Jing with trembling excitement.

“Thank you! Truly, thank you! You have no idea how long I’ve been trapped in there!”

The laughter only intensified.

The creature bent over, wheezing, tears spilling endlessly down his face as though overwhelmed by genuine joy. Eventually, he wiped one of the tears away with his thumb before lifting his head again.

The smile on his face widened impossibly far.

“How is this possible?” Lu Jing demanded, his expression finally cracking. “You are supposed to be trapped in the abyss.”

The silver-haired monster tilted his head before bursting into laughter again.

“Pfft… the abyss?” he mocked between chuckles. “I’ve been there. It’s boring, dull, and utterly just not my vibe.”

His dark eyes gleamed with amusement as he stared directly at Lu Jing.

“But you?” the monster continued softly. “I feel you. Does it feel good? Reaching a higher stage of life? Becoming closer and closer to perfection?” His grin widened. “Hah~!”

“Regardless,” said Lu Jing coldly, “I can still take you down with meager efforts. Nothing changes.”

He raised a hand and the surrounding gravity multiplied instantly.

The air collapsed downward with terrifying pressure as the earth cratered violently beneath the monster’s feet. Mountains of debris flattened into dust while the ruined valley sank lower under the force.

Yet the monster did not move.

Only the ground around him shattered.

“Oh, it changes everything,” the monster replied calmly. “You have no idea how much this kid’s holding back.”

His fingers tightened around the staff.

“Even he doesn’t realize it himself. He’s just too gentle a soul. Too afraid to hurt the things around him.” The monster laughed quietly. “Subconsciously limiting himself by always erring toward caution in hopes he doesn’t destroy something that doesn’t deserve it.”

Then he thumped the bottom of the staff against the ground.

“How about a demonstration?”

BOOM!

Lu Jing’s instincts screamed.

He vanished from his position just as an enormous thorn-covered vine erupted upward from beneath him. The sheer force of its emergence tore apart the landscape, sending chunks of earth flying into the air.

The grass surrounding the vine withered instantly.

Even the qi in the atmosphere began draining away.

The monster casually waved his staff.

The colossal vine lashed sideways like a divine whip.

Lu Jing narrowed his eyes and folded space itself within his palm. Invisible distortions gathered together before forming a formless sword impossible to perceive with mortal sight.

The vine split apart instantly, severed multiple times by the formless sword.

Fragments rained from the sky.

“Is that all?” Lu Jing scoffed.

The earth answered him. The ground exploded repeatedly as more vines burst upward across the valley, hundreds of them twisting violently through the air like ancient dragons awakening beneath the earth.

Lu Jing moved between them flawlessly, teleporting, stepping, and twisting.

His immortal body danced through the destruction with overwhelming precision, yet every strike from the vines carried catastrophic force. Mountains collapsed under their impact. Earthquakes spread through the land. The already ruined cliff housing the Serenity Cliff Sect trembled violently before entire sections broke away into landslides.

The nearby lake surged wildly as erosion tore through its banks.

Nature itself seemed to scream beneath the monster’s control.

“Enough,” Lu Jing snarled as he vanished and reappeared directly behind the monster.

His invisible sword stabbed forward toward the back of the silver-haired figure’s head. But the body dissolved instantly as withered leaves scattered into the air. Twigs crumbled apart.

Lu Jing’s pupils contracted.

The monster appeared beside him the next instant.

“Sunlight Orb.”

A blazing sphere erupted into existence above the staff. Heat exploded outward. The ground dried and cracked instantly while the surrounding air ignited from sheer temperature alone. Lu Jing reacted immediately, slicing downward with the formless sword.

The orb split apart and exploded.

A miniature sun detonated across the valley.

The shockwave flattened forests in the distance while flames surged skyward like a divine punishment descending upon the mortal realm.

Before Lu Jing could stabilize himself, the monster slammed his staff downward again.

The earth ruptured.

An enormous wooden spike erupted upward beneath Lu Jing’s feet.

He teleported far away immediately, only to stare in disbelief at the massive structure now towering across the battlefield. The spike resembled a gigantic tree root forged from iron, stretching higher than the former cliff of the Serenity Cliff Sect itself.

The monster suddenly appeared atop the spike.

His robes fluttered beneath the burning sky.

“These were just the boy’s favorite spells,” he remarked casually. “Can you imagine what other spells he has in his arsenal that he refuses to use?”

The grin on his face widened further.

“Well, to be fair, there was no need. Why bother relying on flexibility and variability when you’re all just so weak and not worth it?” He tapped the wooden spike with his staff. “These spells are cost-efficient, nature-friendly, and easy to repair afterward with phytokinesis.”

He tilted his head slightly.

“Anyway, don’t look down on my warden so much.” His voice lowered dangerously. “It pisses me off.”

The tone almost sounded affectionate.

Then the monster spread his arms.

“It would’ve been so easy to destroy you now,” he sighed dramatically. “But I bet I’d suffer through his whining if I really let loose.”

His smile slowly became feral.

“But honestly… who can stop me?”

Pressure exploded outward.

Lu Jing’s eyes widened.

A tiny sun appeared above the monster’s staff, no larger than a fist, yet the moment it manifested, the surrounding space began warping violently from unbearable heat.

The clouds evaporated.

The atmosphere trembled.

“What power is that?” Lu Jing asked sharply.

The monster grinned.

“It’s called mana.”

The tiny sun brightened.

“Sunblaze Inferno—”

Snap.

The miniature sun vanished instantly.

The overwhelming pressure disappeared as though erased from existence.

Lu Jing froze.

The darkness within the monster’s eyes faded away completely. Only Wo Li remained standing atop the enormous wooden spike, silver hair swaying gently in the wind. Confusion flickered faintly across his exhausted face.

Lu Jing felt his Immortal Art shatter completely.

The abyss.

The suppression.

The isolation.

All of it had broken apart.

His mind reeled.

“H-How?” Lu Jing staggered back slightly, disbelief overtaking his voice. “How did you break out of my Immortal Art?”

…

..

.

No, I hadn’t broken out of his Immortal Art.

At least, not by myself.

If there was anyone responsible for tearing apart that abyss, it was the Monster.

I had merely learned how to switch places with him.

“THIS IS BULLSHIT!” the Monster screamed directly into my mind the moment I resurfaced. “DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I WAITED FOR THAT?! I WAS ABOUT TO VAPORIZE HIM! JUST A LITTLE BIT! ONE TINY SUNBLAAAAZE—”

I forcibly shut him down.

The mental noise abruptly vanished, though I could still feel him throwing what amounted to a cosmic tantrum somewhere deep inside my consciousness.

I steadied my breathing atop the gigantic wooden spike while Lu Jing stared at me with an increasingly unstable expression. The earlier madness and confidence within his eyes had cracked apart after watching his Immortal Art fail.

Yet my attention wasn’t fully on him.

It was on the Monster’s words.

Mana.

I lowered my gaze toward my hand slowly. So I could use mana in this world, too. The thought alone felt surreal. I always believed I fought with everything I had. Every battle. Every struggle. I never once thought I was subconsciously restraining myself.

But after witnessing the Monster control my body…?

I understood.

There had always been hesitation buried deep within me.

Fear.

Not fear of dying.

Fear of hurting everything around me.

The Monster had been right. I constantly erred toward caution without even realizing it. Every spell I cast was controlled. Restrained. Balanced. I always adjusted my output instinctively so I wouldn’t devastate the environment around me or accidentally kill people caught nearby.

Even during desperate battles, part of me was always holding back.

And here I thought I was no stranger to violence.

I closed my eyes briefly and recalled the sensation from earlier. The feeling of mana. It was different from qi. Qi flowed through the world.

Mana felt like reaching beyond it.

Back in Legacy World Online, mana had been described as a dimensional energy originating from the Great Subconscious, a higher plane connecting thought, instinct, memory, dreams, and existence itself.

At the time, it sounded like meaningless game lore.

Now, I realized it wasn’t.

I followed the path the Monster had taken earlier. My consciousness stretched outward beyond the physical world, extending toward something vast and incomprehensible. The moment I touched it, my mind trembled violently.

The Great Subconscious.

It felt endless and ancient, like an ocean made of collective thought and primal instinct.

Then I traced the connection backward.

Mana answered me.

A strange energy began flowing into my body, smooth and terrifyingly pure. It didn’t circulate like qi. It resonated with intention itself, reacting directly to thought and will.

The sensation nearly made me shudder.

The Monster laughed somewhere in the back of my mind.

“TOLD YOU,” he whispered smugly.

I ignored him.

But I couldn’t deny what I felt.

Power.

Real power.

Enough power that the surrounding nature instinctively bent around me despite my attempts to suppress it. The grass near the base of the spike swayed unnaturally while the cracked earth slowly regenerated from lingering phytokinesis leaking from my body.

Then I remembered what the Monster had nearly done earlier.

That miniature sun.

If he had finished casting that spell…

I genuinely didn’t know whether this entire region would still exist.

A chill ran down my spine.

For the first time, I truly understood what it meant to possess power beyond reason.

And I understood why I had subconsciously restrained myself all this time.

Because if I fought seriously now…

It wouldn’t be fair.

Not to the world around me.

“It’s time to stop playing games,” Lu Jing suddenly said.

I opened my eyes.

His expression had calmed slightly, though tension still lingered beneath it. Spatial distortions curled faintly around his fingers while immortal qi surged through his body.

“Cooperate with me,” he said. “You should understand by now that resistance is pointless.”

I looked at him for a moment before answering flatly.

“Shouldn’t you have tried asking for cooperation first before resorting to underhanded methods?”

The air became still.

Neither of us moved.

A tense standoff settled across the ruined valley while spiritual pressure and mana silently collided against one another. The shattered remains of the Serenity Cliff Sect creaked in the distance as loose debris tumbled from unstable cliffs.

Lu Jing narrowed his eyes.

“You speak boldly for someone in your situation.”

I stared back at him quietly.

“You’re so corrupted by power that you can’t even see yourself anymore.”

The moment I said those words, my Druidic Insight instinctively activated.

I saw his soul.

And I almost recoiled.

It was mutilated.

Not metaphorically.

His soul genuinely looked butchered apart and forcibly stitched together through foreign laws and twisted immortal energy. Countless fractures spread across its surface like rotten cracks, while dark substances pulsated through the gaps where pieces no longer properly fit together.

The closer I looked, the more wrong it became.

It resembled something that had devoured itself in pursuit of evolution.

Something incomplete pretending to be whole.

The remnants of countless lives lingered within him too.

The sect.

The cultivators.

All consumed.

All screaming silently inside him.

My expression darkened.

“Was it worth it?” I asked quietly.

Lu Jing stared at me for a second, and he laughed.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA~!"

The sound echoed across the ruined valley.

“Worth it?” he repeated mockingly. “Of course it was worth it. Weak people always ask that question because they fear sacrifice.” His eyes gleamed with fanaticism. “Do you think immortality comes without a price?” He spread his arms slowly. “Everything I lost became the foundation for what I am now. Regret is for failures. I succeeded.”

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