Immortal Druid

In a pavilion just outside Freedom City, a young man with a slim build and seemingly closed eyes sat calmly while drinking tea. Mab sat across from him, entertaining him, or perhaps monitoring him was the more accurate description. Considering the identity of our guest, I couldn't exactly blame her for being cautious.

I approached the pavilion and took a seat.

"Thank you for receiving our precious guest, Mab."

Mab inclined her head slightly.

Before she could respond, the guest raised his teacup and smiled.

"Excellent tea," he said. "And what a fine city you have built here."

His eyes opened just a fraction as they drifted toward Mab before settling on me.

"It also has fine rulers."

I wasn't in the mood for flattery. "What do you want?"

The man sighed dramatically. "Shouldn't a proper introduction be our priority first?"

"Fair enough." I sat down opposite him. "My name is Wo Li."

Mab immediately played along. "And I am Mab."

She poured tea for me before preparing a cup for herself.

The sovereign of the Horizon Kingdom lifted his own cup. "My name is Hu Gang, an aspiring swordsman."

Mab glanced toward the long sword resting beside him. Someone less observant might have missed it, but she wasn't that someone. "An aspiring swordsman?" she repeated, her eyes drifting towards the weapon and the calloused hands. "Someone with your accomplishments? The scabbard alone carries scars from countless battles. The hilt has enough wear to tell its own story. A man like you cannot merely be an aspiring swordsman."

Hu Gang chuckled, his fingers brushing the rim of his teacup. "The path of the sword is endless. For someone like me, who has seen what the ideal peak looks like, I am nothing more than an aspiring swordsman. There were greats who carved their legacies into history long before I was born. Before such figures, I remain a student."

His words carried no aggression. In fact, everything about Hu Gang seemed to lack it. The ruler of the Horizon Kingdom sat across from us, far more interested in savoring his tea than in asserting any royal authority.

Using the Voice of the World, I listened closely. His robes whispered with quiet curiosity. His hair held no trace of malice. Even the air surrounding him felt relaxed and unthreatening. The only exception was the sword at his side. That weapon radiated a strange, restless conflict. It wanted something badly, yet stubbornly restrained itself because its master had no interest in violence.

Then I heard its voice, clear and petulant. "I want to smash myself against the long-eared guy's head."

The childish complaint nearly made me laugh.

"Just once." "Just one hit."

The sword sounded genuinely disappointed.

According to my Druidic Insight, Hu Gang himself appeared surprisingly ordinary. There was no corruption, no hidden horror, no otherworldly contamination. There was nothing that made the druid within me recoil. If anything, he looked less like a human ruler and more like a sword that had somehow learned to walk and speak.

I took a slow sip of tea and met his eyes. “What do you want, Hu Gang?” I asked directly, pointing at him. “Give it to me straight.”

He smiled, calm and unhurried. “Couldn’t I simply be visiting an old acquaintance?”

I stared at him. He stared back. Neither of us blinked.

Eventually, he sighed and set down his cup. “My relationship with the Serenity Cliff Sect is somewhat unique,” he began. “I was once an outer disciple there. More importantly, I was something like an unofficial disciple to Elder Guo Yupin.”

The Sword Formation King. The name carried weight.

“When I reached Soul Transformation and the world began calling me the Sword King,” he continued, his gaze drifting into the distance, “I accepted the title of Sword King. It served as a reminder of the connection I shared with him.”

For a moment, the powerful ruler looked less like a king and more like an old man quietly reminiscing about his youth.

“I was born a bastard of the royal family,” he said, his tone remaining casual. “When people started hunting me, there weren’t many places left where I could hide. So I hid among the Ten Great Sects.”

I raised an eyebrow. “The Serenity Cliff Sect?”

He chuckled softly. “They were the least politically involved. Besides, back then, the influence of nations was pitifully weak. Most countries wouldn’t have dared provoke even a small sect.”

A look of genuine longing entered his eyes.

I listened carefully. His clothes agreed. His sword agreed. The emotions flowing from both felt completely authentic. There was neither deception nor manipulation. In fact, I could hear his sword faintly sobbing.

"Ah, truly trying times..."

Apparently, the sword had been with Hu Gang for a very long time, long enough to remember everything and carry its own regrets.

“I wonder how little Yimu is doing…” the sword murmured, its voice suddenly subdued. “Ah. It fills me with regret. Master had to leave his son behind with Elder Guo.”

I froze. The words hit me like a hammer. Then, without warning, tea shot straight into the wrong pipe.

“Cough!”

The next moment, I spat everything out. Tea exploded across the table, some of it landing directly on Hu Gang’s face. The elegant pavilion fell into complete silence.

Mab stared. Hu Gang stared. I stared.

“Oh, shit.”

I hurriedly grabbed a cloth. “My apologies,” I said, pointing awkwardly at my throat. “The tea went into the wrong pipe.”

Hu Gang slowly wiped his face with the back of his hand. Then he stared at me again, neither angrily nor threateningly… just deeply confused. His expression seemed to ask how an immortal cultivator could possibly choke on tea like a clumsy mortal.

Unfortunately for him, I had just proven it was entirely possible.

'What was he going to do about it? Pick a fight with me?' I silently dared him, refusing to look away.

He continued staring. I continued staring.

The sword finally broke the silence, its voice bright with amusement. “That was hilarious.”

I cleared my throat and forced my expression back into something resembling dignity.

"Ahem. Please, go on."

Before the awkwardness could linger any longer, I hastily invoked pyrokinesis. Gentle heat washed over Hu Gang's face, evaporating the tea that had splashed onto him. Once that was dealt with, I used hydrokinesis to refill both his cup and mine.

Hu Gang accepted the fresh tea without complaint, and then he said something that immediately erased any lingering embarrassment. "I want you to stop the war."

I blinked.

That was not what I had expected.

"What makes you think I have the ability to do that?" I asked. "And why would you even ask me such a thing?"

Hu Gang lifted his cup again and took a slow sip, his eyes lowered toward the swirling liquid as if searching for answers within it. For several long moments, he remained silent.

Eventually, he spoke. “I cannot tell you why.”

I frowned.

“It is a personal matter concerning my connection to the Serenity Cliff Sect,” he continued. “If this war begins, the Serenity Cliff Sect will inevitably be swept into it. I do not wish for that to happen.”

His words sounded completely genuine. His sword practically hummed with approval, clearly in agreement. As for Hu Gang himself, there wasn’t even the slightest tremor of dishonesty in his voice or bearing.

“And my ability?” I pressed.

Hu Gang nodded, meeting my gaze steadily. “You are the only person I can turn to if I want this war to stop.”

I almost laughed out loud. That was an enormous amount of confidence to place in someone.

"The Ten Great Sects cannot defend themselves in the coming conflict," added Hu Gang, almost sounding impatient, though his words were calm and matter-of-fact. "Just as I have reached the immortal realm, so have the rulers of the other nations. The difference is that the sects are unaware of the scale of what is coming. You are already an immortal-level cultivator. The same is true for Lady Mab besides you. If we play our cards correctly, the three of us together may be enough to deter the other nations from proceeding with their plans."

I leaned back, trying to sound him out. "That sounds too optimistic."

"It is," Hu Gang set down his cup with a look of certainty in his eyes. "However, I possess intelligence regarding the movements of every immortal-level cultivator involved. I know where each of them intends to strike to make an example of the Ten Great Sects. If we deal with them individually, we can isolate the last surviving sovereign. Once isolated, that last sovereign can be cornered through diplomacy."

The proposal made sense. More importantly, it minimized casualties on all sides. If I truly intended to involve myself in this conflict, then preventing battles before they even began was likely the most effective path available to me.

I remained silent for a long moment, carefully weighing his words. Then I looked directly at him. "If we do as you suggest, can you promise me it ends there?"

"No," answered Hu Gang with a sigh. "The Heavenly Domain Sect is involved."

My eyes narrowed.

Hu Gang continued. "They played a role in elevating each sovereign to the immortal realm. Their objective extends beyond this war. They intend to conquer this continent. However, if the continent is united...? If the influence of the Four Sovereign Flags, the Ten Great Sects, your own faction, and the Willow Order can be combined...?"

His eyes sharpened, a look of resolve bursting through them.

"...then we have a fighting chance of protecting this continent."

I studied him carefully. The man had done his homework. The fact that he knew about my connection to the Willow Order was proof enough. He was thorough, dangerously so.

“I’ll think about it.”

Hu Gang nodded. “That is all I ask.”

“I need time.”

“You have until the end of the day. I will be waiting at the Serenity Cliff Sect.” He rose from his seat. “But I cannot wait long.”

His sword floated onto his back. “You must give me your answer before tomorrow.”

Without another word, the Sword King turned and departed. I watched him until he vanished beyond the edge of my perception, then released a slow breath. The pavilion fell quiet once more, leaving only Mab and me.

I glanced at her. “What do you think? Can you tell me about your... past life?”

Mab frowned. “The more you learn about my regression, the more misfortune you accumulate.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Her expression remained unchanged, but she eventually relented. “Things happened differently back then. Your actions have already begun creating a butterfly effect in this timeline.”

Mab folded her hands. “In my previous life, the Ten Great Sects were the aggressors, backed by the Sea Dragon Palace. The Four Sovereign Flags were supported by the Heavenly Domain Sect. It was essentially a proxy war between those two powers.”

I listened quietly.

“In that timeline, the Ten Great Sects produced twelve immortal-level cultivators. The Four Sovereign Flags only had four, one for each nation.”

Four versus twelve. The numbers alone should have decided the outcome, yet Mab’s expression stayed strangely complicated.

“The rulers possessed extraordinary talents and special constitutions,” she continued. “They were heavily outnumbered, but they were monsters. The Cloud General of the North perished after being ambushed by nearly every immortal from the great sects. He still killed roughly a third of them and severely wounded the rest.”

My eyes widened.

“The Bleeding Emperor of the South launched a direct assault on the Sea Dragon Palace. He assassinated their young heir and killed multiple immortals before falling. The Storm Queen of the East survived the longest as she sank half of the sacred mountains and cultivation grounds belonging to the Ten Great Sects. In her later years, she became a pirate.”

Mab’s gaze drifted toward the horizon. “The Sword King vanished from history. In truth, he became a wandering mercenary, honing his swordsmanship for decades. Then he returned and slaughtered the last remaining immortals of the Ten Great Sects, earning the title Sword Emperor in his death.”

Silence filled the pavilion.

I leaned back in my chair. The Four Sovereign Flags were absurd. Perhaps that was what it took to rule nations in a world like this.

“You will need them,” Mab said, her voice serious. “In the future battles to come. I understand your desire to reduce bloodshed and why you want to involve yourself. But there are responsibilities waiting for you, responsibilities you will never be able to run from. Especially now that you’ve stepped forward.”

For a moment, her stern mask cracked. “I want you to be happy, Wo Li. But before you can enjoy that happiness… you must remain alive.”

The implication was clear. Mab did not support cooperating with Hu Gang. Or perhaps she simply feared what helping him might cost me.

I hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can you tell me more about your past life?”

Mab’s expression darkened. “There is no need to insist on feeding the Dark Sun of Misfortune within you.”

I gave her a small, helpless smile. “I want to know what the other me did. I want to know him better.”

She stared into my eyes, as though weighing my sincerity. Finally, she let out a quiet sigh.

“You truly are determined to pry into your own doom.”

I shrugged faintly. “Maybe. But he was still me, wasn’t he?”

Mab’s gaze softened just a little. “Very well,” she said at last. “If you insist on learning about him, listen carefully. But do not blame me if what you hear only makes you more troublesome than you already are.”

Mab inhaled, and her lips moved.

I saw the shape of her words, but no sound reached me.

At first, I thought I had simply gone deaf from the shock. Then a sharp, stabbing pressure drove into the side of my skull, and my knees nearly gave out beneath me. I reached up on instinct and touched my ear.

My fingers came away wet.

Blood poured from my ears in a steady, horrifying stream, warm enough to make my stomach twist. The other ear followed a heartbeat later. My hearing vanished completely, as though someone had ripped the world away from me and left only silence in its place.

Panic surged through me.

Mab’s face blurred as I swayed. Her expression had changed instantly, worry flashing across her features, but I could not hear whatever she was saying. I could not hear the rustle of her robes, the scrape of her chair, or even my own ragged breathing.

Soon, the pavilion disappeared.

I blinked, and my mental world unfolded around me.

The throne of bones stood before me, towering and grotesque, and upon it sat the Supreme Monster.

His silhouette, once tangled in vines, had become even more twisted. The vines had grown thornier, darker, more vicious, as if they had fed on his anger. His eyes burned with a fury so intense that it made my soul feel exposed.

Then his voice crashed through my mind.

“FOOL, IN THE END, YOU FAIL TO REALIZE THE TRUTH OF YOUR EXISTENCE. A MERE WARDEN LIKE YOU DARES TO LET OUT THE PRISONER YOU ARE MEANT TO GUARD. TRULY, A FOOL TO NO END. SO MUCH THAT EVEN THE KING OF FOOLS MIGHT FIND PITY ON YOU, PATHETIC WARDEN.”

The words struck me like a hammer to the chest.

I staggered back, my thoughts scattering in every direction.

My mouth opened, but no sound came. Even here, in my own mental world, I felt strangely muted, as though the force of his presence had wrapped itself around my throat and squeezed.

The Supreme Monster leaned forward on his throne, his expression filled with contempt.

“YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE LOCK,” he said. “YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE CHAIN. AND YET YOU STAND THERE, BLINDLY OPENING YOURSELF TO WHAT SHOULD NEVER BE FREED.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

The prisoner he spoke of...

Was it me?

Or was it something to do with him?

Something was wrong...

I tried to steady my breathing, though I could not hear it. My pulse thundered in my ears, or perhaps I only imagined it. The throne of bones groaned beneath the Supreme Monster’s weight, and the vines around him writhed like living serpents, their thorns lengthening with every passing second.

His gaze sharpened.

“YOU DO NOT EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE.”

The words echoed through my mind, each one heavier than the last.

I clenched my fists.

I wanted to ask him what he meant, demand answers, and tear the truth out of him if I had to.

But before I could force even a single coherent thought into words, the throne cracked.

A soundless tremor rippled through my mental world, and the bones beneath the Supreme Monster split apart like brittle glass. The vines surged violently, then recoiled all at once, as if something had yanked them backward from beyond my sight.

The vision shattered.

I gasped and nearly collapsed in the pavilion.

My body lurched forward, and only then did I realize Mab had moved to catch me. Her hands were on my shoulders, steadying me, but I still could not hear her voice. Her lips moved rapidly, her brows drawn tight with concern, yet all I received was silence.

I touched my ears again.

Blood still flowed.

My hearing had not returned.

I looked up at Mab, trying to read her expression, trying to understand what had just happened, but all I could see was alarm and urgency. She said something else, slower this time, as if she thought I might be able to understand through lip movement alone.

I couldn’t.

The silence pressed in around me, thick and unnatural.

With a sinking feeling in my chest, I realized something far worse than the blood or the deafness.

My voice was gone, and even my vision was dimming.

"Am I... Am I going to die?"

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