Immortal Druid

[POV: Geng Chen]

Geng Chen stood at the forefront, her pristine white robes fluttering gently in the wind, accentuating her ethereal beauty. Long black hair cascaded down her back like silk, and her sharp, phoenix-like eyes scanned the immense forest ahead.

Behind her, an imposing force had assembled. There were two hundred Core Formation cultivators, ten Nascent Soul experts, four Soul Formation powerhouses, and two Immortals whose auras alone warped the surrounding qi.

Lai Kun stepped forward, his tall frame casting a long shadow. His tanned skin spoke of countless battles under harsh suns, and the blade at his side hummed with restrained killing intent. A master of the blade from the Crimson Fate Continent, the homeland of the bloodthirsty asuras. Lai Kun was no asura himself, yet ancient records whispered of his name with terror.

“Lady Geng Chen,” Lai Kun said, his voice deep and measured, “is this truly worth the effort? Coming to this backwater domain in a destitute continent that not even the most prominent powers in the world would bother glancing at?”

Geng Chen’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. She had considered sparring with him once or twice; his blade arts were legendary, after all. But she restrained herself. There was something far more important at hand. If she faltered here, Hao Lei would never stop nagging her.

She turned her gaze toward the distant city on the horizon. “Lai Kun, what exactly do you think our objectives are here? Why have the immortals around the world hidden themselves?”

“Apologies, but care too little for such things. Life? Death? It’s all decided on the battlefield. Hiding is a coward’s way. And I’m a warrior.”

“I admire your fighting spirit, but it would do you good if you learned restraint.” Geng Chen’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “It’s to let the younger generation flourish, of course.”

A look of realization dawned on Lai Kun’s face as the implications settled in.

Battles between immortals were cataclysmic. Entire domains could be obliterated, continents shaken to their core. Though the land would eventually recover, mortals and weaker cultivators would be culled in the crossfire. A common strategy among immortals in older eras had been to seize the important people of their rivals as hostages. If the trap prepared at their base failed, the enemy would be forced to lay down his arms through the hostages.

Geng Chen addressed the gathered forces, her voice clear and commanding. “Be alert and do not let your guard down. There is a secret master on this continent known as the Fairy Queen. She hasn’t shown herself in a long time, but if she appears, I will handle her personally.”

A thrill ran through her. She had always been curious about that old monster’s reputation and power. Heh~ If the mission weren’t so vital, she would have already knocked on her door to stir up trouble.

“Prepare yourselves,” she continued. “We are going to pay Leafhome a visit and begin in earnest. We must be discreet, so leave no survivors.”

The old man had given her clear orders to acquire the Shén at all costs, so that was another thing she had to do here.

When they arrived at Leafhome City, the massive gates were firmly shut. Geng Chen frowned. Not a single guard stood upon the walls. It was a strange way to defend a city. Yet she could sense multiple life signatures pulsing within.

“Take down the gate,” she ordered coolly.

A Nascent Soul cultivator stepped forward, drawing his sword in a flash of light. With one decisive slash, the sturdy gates were sliced into pieces that crashed to the ground.

The force poured into the city, only to find it eerily empty. Streets lay deserted. Buildings stood silent.

Geng Chen gritted her teeth. “How did they know?”

They escaped. That could be the only explanation.

Without hesitation, she swung her sword, sending arcs of sword qi slashing toward every life signature she detected. The ground and buildings tore apart violently, only to reveal countless hidden seeds beneath. They bloomed instantly into writhing vines and aggressive plant life that covered the area. Some vines sprouted deadly barbs, lashing out at them.

“Escape to the sky!” Geng Chen commanded sharply.

The entire group shot upward in a surge of light and qi. Yet even as they ascended, some of the relentless vines struck their marks, piercing arms and legs, drawing blood and cries of pain from several Core Formation cultivators.

“How dare you!?”

Geng Chen's gaze shifted toward the top of an enormous statue depicting a long-eared man. Standing atop its head was a woman with similarly long ears and verdant hair that resembled intertwined leaves. She wore an amused smile as though the arrival of hundreds of cultivators was little more than a pleasant diversion.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Geng Chen asked.

The woman's smile widened.

"You don't deserve to know my name."

She flicked a finger.

The sea of vines beneath them erupted into motion.

Thousands of tendrils lashed through the air. Geng Chen's sword flashed. Silver light carved through the approaching vines, severing them by the hundreds. Yet the cut fragments immediately exploded into storms of leaves that scattered in every direction.

Geng Chen swung a second time.

A wall of sword qi shredded the leaves before they could reach her forces.

Beside her, Lai Kun moved.

The famed bladesman of the Crimson Fate Continent vanished from sight. Bloody spiritual energy boiled around him as he crossed the distance in an instant. His blade descended toward the mysterious woman.

The woman merely dissolved into flower petals.

Lai Kun's attack passed harmlessly through empty space.

The petals reassembled behind him.

A barbed whip appeared in her hand.

CRACK!

The whip wrapped around Lai Kun's throat before he could react. With a casual motion, she hurled him across the city. Buildings shattered as his body disappeared into the distance.

Geng Chen's eyes narrowed.

"Spread out and engage any hostile forces you encounter. Locate the members of the Willow Order. They could not have gone far."

Her subordinates immediately dispersed, escaping the city and some combing to a place to begin their tracking efforts. A moment later, a bloody streak shot back toward the statue. Lai Kun had returned.

His blade moved.

"Thousand Crimson Severance."

Countless crimson arcs erupted around him, forming a storm of blade light capable of shredding mountains.

The woman scoffed.

"Dao Domain: Spirit of the World Tree."

An enormous tree manifested behind her. Its trunk seemed to support heaven itself. Branches stretched beyond the clouds. The moment the domain appeared, her verdant hair transformed into silver-white strands. The whip in her hand twisted and lengthened into a sword.

She swung.

Blood blossomed.

Lai Kun's attack landed first. Dozens of wounds opened across the woman's body as his blade cut through flesh, cloth, and spiritual defenses alike. At nearly the same moment, Geng Chen arrived. Her sword pierced directly through the woman's heart.

The sword emerged from her back.

Geng Chen frowned.

"You are not taking this seriously. Your sword missed."

The woman glanced down at the blade protruding from her chest.

"I didn't miss."

Several heads fell from the sky.

Geng Chen's eyes widened.

The four Soul Formation cultivators she had brought with her had been beheaded.

The woman smiled faintly.

"I was aiming for them."

Cold fury surged through Geng Chen. She twisted her sword. Immortal power flooded into the wound. Intent on stripping away the woman's immortality, Geng Chen immediately unleashed her strongest technique.

"Dao Domain: Purity of the Silver Lotus."

A silver lotus bloomed at the tip of her sword. It expanded into a storm of sword qi. The heavens trembled. The city below split apart. Finally, Geng Chen swung upward. A pillar of silver radiance erupted toward the sky. Everything in its path disintegrated.

The woman vanished during the attack.

Silence followed, yet the colossal World Tree remained standing.

Geng Chen's expression darkened.

The domain had not disappeared. A cough interrupted her thoughts. She turned and saw Lai Kun was kneeling in the air. Blood dripped from his lips. Both of his arms were gone. Standing beside him was the woman, calmly cleaning her sword.

"Impressive swordsmanship," she remarked. "A bit crass, though."

A genuine alarm entered Geng Chen's mind. She had not sensed the woman moving. Not even slightly. Geng Chen suppressed her unease. "While you stand here, my people are pursuing your allies. Your position will not hold forever. Once they locate them, they will inform me, and I will kill them. Pursue me if you must, but the mere shockwaves of our fighting will kill them all the same. I swear upon my honor. I will defeat you."

The woman shrugged.

"Perhaps."

Geng Chen studied her carefully, and then she asked the question that had occupied her thoughts since arriving. "What is your connection to the existence known as Wo Li?"

The woman paused with a curious expression on her face. "And why would you ask that?"

Geng Chen tightened her grip on her sword. “I know who you are. I can’t be mistaken. You are the Fairy Queen and you’ve remained silent for countless thousands of years. Why appear now?"

"Isn't it natural for the woman to look after her man?" she asked. "Someone must look after the home and make sure everything is in order. Otherwise, what sort of place would remain for my man to return to when he comes back?"

Geng Chen blinked and found herself completely baffled.

"That Wo Li is your... Dao Companion?"

The Fairy Queen clicked her tongue.

"You may call us that if you wish. Unfortunately, my dearest has yet to return my affections, which means I must work even harder to demonstrate my devotion."

The absurdity of the statement nearly made Geng Chen forget the battlefield surrounding them.

The Fairy Queen pointed toward the distant fighting.

"I could have killed every cultivator you brought here. But why would I? The younger generation needs opportunities to grow. Useful training is difficult to find these days. So, if you think I am being merciful, then forget about it. All of you will perish to my fury for daring to touch my precious home."

Geng Chen immediately used qi telekinesis.

Lai Kun's body was pulled away from danger. Immortal flesh regenerated rapidly. Moments later, his missing arms had fully reformed.

Without moving her lips, Geng Chen transmitted her voice directly into his mind.

"Attack from both sides."

Lai Kun nodded.

The two immortals separated.

One moved left, and the other moved right.

The Fairy Queen remained standing in place, utterly calm and unhurried, as though she welcomed the challenge.

Silver light gathered around Geng Chen.

Crimson energy engulfed Lai Kun.

"Dao Domain: Purity of the Silver Lotus."

"Dao Domain: Bloody Demonic Mountain."

Two immortal domains descended upon the battlefield simultaneously. The sky itself began to crack beneath their combined pressure.

"Life is not a straight line, but a continuous loop of birth, growth, release, and renewal."

The Fairy Queen's voice remained calm.

She stood motionless at the center of the battlefield as the two Dao Domains descended upon her. Silver lotus light and crimson demonic qi collided with overwhelming force. Space twisted. The heavens trembled. The earth below cracked apart beneath the pressure.

Yet the woman did not move.

Her voice echoed throughout the ruined city.

"As there is spring, summer, autumn, and winter leading to cyclical unity, there is conquest, war, famine, and death."

Geng Chen's eyes widened, realizing that something was wrong. The moment those words left the Fairy Queen's lips, sensation vanished from her limbs. The sword slipped from her fingers, and her knees struck the air as if an invisible force had severed her connection to her own body.

Slowly, she fell.

The immortal crashed onto the shattered streets below. Confusion flooded her mind. She attempted to circulate qi, but nothing responded. She attempted to stand, but nothing moved. Panic began creeping into her heart.

Her gaze shifted toward Lai Kun. The famed blade master had frozen in place. The crimson mountain behind him flickered, collapsed, and disappeared. His body slowly faded like sand carried away by the wind.

His blade fell alone.

The weapon struck the ground with a lonely clang.

Even the last traces of Lai Kun’s presence vanished.

"No... no, that's impossible..." Geng Chen’s voice trembled as she shook her head, white robes stained by dust and ruin. "An Immortal Art? Here? How could someone like you possess an Immortal Art?"

She laughed weakly, the sound bordering on hysteria. "Do you have any idea what immortals sacrifice for even a fragment of such knowledge? Entire sects vanish chasing legends less absurd than this. We investigated every force on this continent, every inheritance, every hidden realm, and none of it should have led to this."

Her breathing grew uneven as she stared at Mab. "What are you? Who are you really? Nothing about this makes sense. None of it. We were supposed to understand this world. We were supposed to be the ones standing above everyone else."

The Fairy Queen knew an Immortal Art.

How?

Immortal Arts were among the greatest arts in existence. Entire continents had gone to war over fragments of such inheritances. Countless immortals spent their lives pursuing them without success.

The Willow Order should not possess such knowledge.

No force within this forgotten continent should possess such knowledge.

Unless...

Unless the Fairy Queen was far more extraordinary than any of them had imagined.

The woman continued speaking as she descended slowly from the sky.

"Contrary to life, death is a straight line."

Her silver-white hair drifted gently behind her.

"Like a destined path."

Each word seemed to carry the weight of an ancient truth.

"Eventually reaching an inevitable end."

Silence followed.

The World Tree behind her gradually faded, and the oppressive power blanketing the battlefield disappeared. For several moments, neither woman spoke. Geng Chen found herself lying amidst the ruins, staring upward at the Fairy Queen.

A being who seemed entirely detached from the rules she knew.

The Fairy Queen stopped a short distance away. Her expression remained relaxed and almost friendly.

Geng Chen laughed weakly, and the sound surprised even her.

After everything that had happened, there was only one question she wanted answered.

"You should have a name."

The Fairy Queen tilted her head.

Geng Chen looked up at her.

"Please."

The word felt strange leaving her mouth.

"At least tell me your name."

The Fairy Queen smiled. It was neither the amused smile she had worn throughout the battle nor the teasing smile from before. It was a genuine smile.  For some reason, it made her appear far younger.

"My name?"

She placed a finger against her chin as if considering the matter, and then she nodded.

"Very well."

The Fairy Queen extended a hand toward the fallen immortal.

"You may call me Mab."

The name was simple, short, and unremarkable. Yet Geng Chen felt as though she had finally glimpsed the person hidden behind the legend she thought had been overly exaggerated. Mab. The Fairy Queen. Guardian of this continent. And apparently, the woman who was patiently waiting for a certain Wo Li to return home.

The thought almost made Geng Chen laugh again.

Even now, she still could not decide which fact was more unbelievable: how such a strong being could become someone’s woman or why such a strong being had kept herself hidden for so long.

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